Panamanian Int'l Film Fest or PIFFLA Receives Grant from California Arts Council

Award-winning Actor and Director Carlos Carrasco, Director of the Panamanian International Film Festival, LA (PIFFLA) announced that The California Arts Council has awarded $18,000 to the festival as part of its Cultural Pathways program.

The Cultural Pathways program is rooted in the California Arts Council’s commitment to serving the needs of an increasingly demographically complex California and the belief that a healthy arts ecosystem reflects contributions from all of California’s diverse populations. The program provides two years of operating support and a host of technical assistance and professional development activities to small, new and emerging organizations rooted in communities of color, recent immigrant and refugee communities, and tribal or indigenous groups.

PIFFLA first edition was launched on Nov. 21, 2015, at the AT&T Center in downtown Los Angeles, presented by Union Bank and endorsed by the Panama Film Commission and The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Panama. Inauguration Reception and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was done by Lic. Raquel Alfaro, Consul of Panama in Los Angeles.

The Panamanian International Film Festival, LA (PIFFLA) will take place Saturday, October 27, 2018 & Sunday, October 28th, 2018. at The Los Angeles Theater Center 514 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

PIFFLA LLC in association with the long-established New Filmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) have joined forces to turn the spotlight on one of the fastest-growing and fertile film locations in the Americas.

The Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles (PIFFLA) has been designed to build bridges between the emerging film industry in Panama and Central America and the motion picture industry in the US. PIFFLA features works by up and coming filmmakers from the area as well as visual arts, musical and dance exhibitions and even culinary samples from the region.

The 2018 edition will be held at the prestigious Los Angeles Theater Center in collaboration with the Latino Theatre Company, and promises to strengthen their commitment to the artistic life and vitality of the Latino performing community in California and abroad.

PIFFLA is one of 56 grantees chosen for the Cultural Pathways program. The award was featured as part of a larger announcement from The California Arts Council.

“California’s cultural diversity is its greatest creative asset,” said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. “We are proud to support the work of PIFF/LA in celebration of that unique and cherished identity.”

To view a complete listing of all Cultural Pathways grantees, visit the website

The mission of The Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles (PIFFLA) is to cast a spotlight on the emerging film community in Central America and the Caribbean while building industry exchanges with established centers of production and distribution in the U.S.

The mission of The California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. The Council is committed to building public will and resources for the arts; fostering accessible arts initiatives that reflect contributions from all of California’s diverse populations; serving as a thought leader and champion for the arts; and providing effective and relevant programs and services.

Members of the California Arts Council include: Chair Nashormeh Lindo, Vice Chair Larry Baza, Phoebe Beasley, Christopher Coppola, Juan Devis, Kathleen Gallegos, Jaime Galli, Donn K. Harris, Louise McGuinness, Steven Oliver, and Rosalind Wyman.

PIFFLA is staffed by Director Carlos Carrasco, Associate Director Maia C. de Zan Hatch, NFMLA Executive Director Larry Laboe, Los cortos.com Director Yaniv Waisman, Panamanian writer Luis André Lorenzo Trujillo and Panama Event Organizer José Luis Campos.

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