Birthday Boy (Cumpleañero) tells the story of Jimmy, who invites his close circle of friends to a stunning beach mansion to celebrate his 45th birthday. As Jimmy and his wife are arranging for their guests to arrive, we can sense a certain unease and nervousness. The married couple have been hiding a secret from their friends, and the festivities are derailed by Jimmy’s announcement that he has been diagnosed with the terrible disease of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and wants to end his life before the party is over.
The 2022 Panamanian thriller addresses the power of friendship, death, and the choices that we as humans have over our lives. Ultimately, the tale delivers the message that the birthday boy should be able to decide what he wants to do on his special day.  
Arturo Montenegro, who wrote and directed Birthday Boy, said during an interview with La Estrella de Panamá that cinema is art: “It is an art form that goes beyond showing an audience a movie solely for entertaining purposes or to make people laugh. It must be something that starts when the movie ends. Once the credits roll, it must create room for an audience to analyze and talk about the topic.” In his interview with the paper, he emphasizes the importance of having compassion for others and shares that his intention for this project was to leave “a message of true love among friends who are capable of accepting things that, in light of morality and religion, are considered sinful or negative, but in light of humanity are consistent and completely justified.”
The director added that the preparation process for the film was somewhat challenging, since he wanted to do the character justice and get inside the protagonist’s head in order to understand what a person, who is in the prime of his life, might feel or think when struck by a degenerative disease that little by little will take his life itself.
Birthday Boy has been selected as the official Panamanian entry for the Best International Film at the 95th Academy Awards.