FESTIVAL PREMIERE
In Search of the Rabbit Indian
Director: Annie Canavaggio, María Neyla Santamaría
“In Search of the Rabbit Indian” is a documentary that explores an enigmatic indigenous legend from Panama. It tells the story of a supposed small, warrior-like, and elusive tribe living in the mountains of Chiriquí/Bocas del Toro, linking it to the cultural resistance of the Naso people in the face of modernity.
They are described as small beings (approx. 1.50 m) with long ears, sharp teeth, and body hair who live in underground caves.
In the documentary, the “Rabbit Indian” represents cultural resistance, memory, and the struggle of the last 4,000 Naso against the loss of their lands, especially in the face of hydroelectric dam construction.
CAST & CREDITS
Director
Director: Annie Canavaggio, María Neyla Santamaría
Writer
Director: Annie Canavaggio, María Neyla Santamaría
Producer
Director: Annie Canavaggio, María Neyla Santamaría
Key Cast
Eliseo Vargas, Reynaldo Gonzalez
Director Statement
The Rabbit Indian represents that subtle line between reality and mysticism.
The film is an invitation to recognize the connection between environmental needs, the human rights of the Naso people, and the progressive loss of the culture of the last 4,000 Naso.
The work seeks to narrate—and make us feel—the importance of protecting their language, their worldview, and their way of life, as an essential part of a broader balance that involves us all.
DIRECTORS BIO
She studied cinema at the London Film School. Later, she filmed “Liza … como Ella”, which reveals the story of a homosexual guna. The documentary was selected at the Discovering Latin American Film Festival, GIEFF Gottingen, Etna Film Fest Tirana, Pärnu, Havana (not in competition). In 2014, she premiered the documentary Breaking the Wave at the IFF International Film Festival in Panama, immediately winning a worldwide distribution contract for Habanero Films. Breaking the Wave was also in the official competition in the Warsaw Film Festival, Chicago Latino Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival. In June 2025 she premiered the feature Documentary about the Panama Canal Treaties SON OF TIGER AND MULE In Sheffield International Film Festival, later in Biarritz Film festival, Costa Rica Film Festival, Panoramika in Stockholm, won a Coral in the Havana Film Festival (Jury`s Best Documentary Festival Winner) Panama Film Awards the film was a recipient in 2014 of the Panama Film Fund and in 2016 Ibermedia Coproduction Fund.
In 2026 she codirected and coproduced with Maria Neyla Santamaria EN BUSCA DEL INDIO CONEJO which premiered in IFF Panama 2026.
MARIA NEYLA SANTAMARIA is a prominent Colombian producer and cultural manager based in Panama, with over 20 years of experience and a career spanning more than 10 feature films, most of which are Central American productions and co-productions.
Among her recent films is the feature film HIJO DE TIGRE Y MULA, directed by Annie Canavaggio. World premiere in Sheffield 2025; Biarritz; Jury Prize at the Havana Film Festival 2025.
In 2026, her directorial debut, the feature-length documentary EN BUSCA DEL INDIO CONEJO, directed by Maria Neyla Santamaría and Annie Canavaggio, premiered at IFF Panama.
For the past five years, she has been involved in various training initiatives as a project advisor, residencies, and workshops for Producción, Nuevas Miradas Cuba, and Encuentros Cartagena.
She serves on the project selection committee for the Talents Project Market at the Guadalajara International Film Festival and for Bammers at the Bogotá Audiovisual Market.
She served as creative lead and director for four years of the Creative Production Workshop for Central America and the Caribbean.
