Mary-Anne Martin Fine Art congratulates Isabel De Obaldía for winning “Mejor documental nacional” (“Best National Documentary”) for her film Por Panamá la vida at the 12th edition of the prestigious Hayah Panama International Short Film Festival. The jury comprised of Paola Perez Nieto, Abner Benaim and Ruben Blades.
Por Panamá la vida is a short personal documentary about the years living under the dictatorship of general Noriega culminating with the United States invasion in December 1989.
The documentary was made by combining photographs and videos that De Obaldía was taking during the years 1987 through 1990 to record the ongoing political events, and her family daily life which was deeply affected by the situation during that time. After a particularly intense personal confrontation with the military the young artist put a stop to her street activity and started making drawings and paintings in her studio. A narration based from texts found in her private diaries pieces together the historical facts and her personal view with the art that she produced at the time.