Cineplex Takes Americas Rights to Panamanian Comedy-Drama "La Residencia"
Cineplex has picked up North and South American sales rights to "La Residencia," a Panamanian comedy-drama that is close to its festival debut. Sales rights let a company sell a film to cinemas, streaming services and broadcasters in a set region. Variety reported the deal on 8 November 2026.
The film is directed by Mariel García Spooner, who also wrote it. It is her follow-up to "Algo Azul," a previous feature that was released in cinemas in 11 territories and later played on HBO Max and Prime Video.
The story follows three women friends in their mid-sixties. They face money troubles, so they set up a social club for seniors. The cast includes Xilena Aycardi, Marcela Carvajal, Diana Abouganem, Massiel Mas, Diego de Obaldía, Miguel Melfi, Beatriz García and Gregory Manrique.
The film is produced by Hello October, a company based in Panama. Marcela Bejarano is also named as a producer. English-language listings call the film "The Residence." Filming began in Panama, according to a Spanish-language report from Programa Ibermedia.
The film is now "picture locked," which means the edit is finished. It is in the final stages of post-production, the work that comes after filming, such as editing, sound and colour. Barcelona-based Only Postproduction has joined to handle the colour grading, the process of setting the look of each scene.
Along the way, the project collected several industry backers. It was part of the Work-in-Progress lineup at the Málaga film festival in Spain, where Variety later listed it among titles to watch. It also took part in Sanfic Industria's WIP Iberoamericana, a competition for films from Latin America, Spain and Portugal that are still in post-production. The competition is run by the industry arm of Santiago de Chile's Sanfic festival.
Work-in-progress schemes like these are designed for films that are not yet finished. "La Residencia" also won the Latino Film Institute's work-in-progress finishing fund at Laliff 2026, a prize that helps pay for the last stage of a film. The award was presented in collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios.
Cineplex is also adding another title to its slate. The company has picked up Colombian and Latin American rights to "The Cry of Serankwa," by Yull Nuñez.
The deal means a Panamanian film with a cast of familiar Latin American names will be sold across North and South America before its first festival screening. For the people who made it, the edit is done and the colour is being set. The next public step is the festival launch, which has not yet been given a date.
