Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival shortlists entries

The highly anticipated Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival officially announced 55 shortlisted entries out of 270 submissions it received on its inaugural run.

Puregold CinePanalo is a film festival that aims to showcase the triumph and resilience of the Filipino spirit and the beauty of every day wins in life. Retail giant Puregold named 15 established and promising directors for the full-length category, while 40 student filmmakers made it to the first round of the short film category.

Shortlisted entries will move on to the next steps of the competition, wherein Puregold will award a substantial grant of P2,500,000 for each of the five selected directors in the full-length category and 25 grants worth P100,000 each for the promising amateur directors in the short film category.

Vincent Co, president of Puregold, expressed his gratitude and excitement following the overwhelming response to the festival's submission call. "We are pleased about the numerous entries we received, with student entries coming from all over the country–Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao."

Puregold CinePanalo received 125 entries for the full-length category and 135 for the student shorts category.

Shortlisted directors in the full-length category are as follows: Carlo Obispo, Xian Lim, Viggo Franco, Joel Ferrer, Joseph Andrew Santos Abello, Alphie Velasco, Juan Carlo Balasbas Tarobal, Ezekiel M. Ferrer, RC Delos Reyes, Ma. Jasmin Celestina C. Bernardino, Raynier F. Brizuela, Kurt Steven Yu Soberano, Eugene Torres, Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo, Mark Norman Boquiren and Roman Perez Jr.

The judges for the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival are Ivy Hayagan-Piedad, Puregold's senior marketing manager; Chris Cahilig, the festival director and filmmaker; directors Lemuel Lorca and Emmanuel dela Cruz, recognized for their contributions to Philippine cinema; and Tito Valiente, writer and film critic. With their combined expertise, the festival will receive fair and comprehensive evaluations of the exceptional entries.

Vincent adds, "Puregold remains dedicated to our retailtainment initiatives. Through CinePanalo, and the remarkable creativity of students and directors, we continue to connect with our loyal customers and new audiences outside our stores."

Chris Cahilig, Puregold CinePanalo festival director and an esteemed filmmaker, shares, "The entries we received embody artistic excellence. While it was challenging to narrow down our selection, we are genuinely pleased with the deep pool of remarkable talent within the Filipino filmmaking industry, and it will be an honor to show these films to more audiences."

The final phase will see Puregold carefully selecting the ultimate finalists from the shortlist, who will proceed with script finalization and subsequent production.