Panama, Casco Antiguo
Panama, Casco Viejo


Last night (finally!) I went to see Quantum of Solace. The line was unbelievable, even if we went half hour early which we thought was enought to get tickets. Everyone was so excited, and the reason is simple: a big chunk of the habitants of Panama City where either working as staff or as extras in the movie, so everyone was there.

After the first action scene that leaves you breathless and with your heart on your mouth, I could focus on figuring out what was filmed where, and who could I see that I knew. I was incredibly pleased to discover how Casco Viejo looked under Marc Forster´s eye: it was very raw in some scenes (specially Calle 17) but also beautiful and elegant (the Ministry of Culture alias the Grand Hotel never looked better!).  I couldn´t hold my smile when saw all those "bolivians" walking down my own street at Calle 1era.... and a bunch of friends dressed in luxury dresses for the "party" of the bad guy at the old Club Union.

I went to the official website of Quantum of Solace to check if they had anything on behind the scenes and they did. Ana Endara, who helped with the casting in Panama talked about the "bolivians" who were indeed Gnobe Buglé indians from Panama (we have at least 6 different tribes here) and how they explained what the movie was about to them.  I was also curious about how was the experience itself of filming in Panama, as we aren´t really known for having a filming industry (yet). Executive Producer Callum McDougall talked about it in a brief video. And here is their thoughts about the locations.