To strengthen our local cinema industry, it needs to tap into a new talent pool. This is where the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival enters the picture, as it continues to pursue its mission of discovering new visual storytellers.

The Philippine independent film festival, which held its successful first edition this summer at Gateway Cineplex, Cubao, serves as a “wishmaker” for young, aspiring filmmakers. The festival’s inauguration in 2024, which attracted significant names in the local indie scene, dedicated six slots for the Feature category. But it was more focused on the Student Shorts category with a substantial 25 slots.

On 23 July, amid the super typhoon “Carina,” festival director Chris Cahilig excitedly announced to the media its preparations for CinePanalo’s second edition, set to take place in the summer of 2025. As of press time, the festival is currently sifting through 121 screenplay entries for the Feature category, which has expanded to seven slots for 2025.

However, it is the student short film category — with a deadline that closes on 15 August — that remains its nerve center. Cahilig shared that Puregold president Vincent Co wanted to double the category’s slots from 25 to 50 finalists for 2025, but the festival director admitted it was not humanly possible at this time. This ambition, though, shows Puregold’s staunch commitment to nurturing undiscovered, emerging Filipino filmmakers.

Money and support

Cahilig described Year 2 as “bigger and bolder.” 

“We are scaling things up,” he said, also sharing that the festival has recently partnered with the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation, Inc. (MOWELFUND).

For 2025, Puregold has increased its production grant for the winning screenplays in both categories. For a full-length feature, the grant is P3,000,000 — a P500,000 increase from the previous edition. For a student short film, the grant is now P150,000 — a P50,000 increase.

Adequate funding is crucial to bringing stories to the screen. It helps that our friendly neighborhood supermarket empire is offering generous grant money for these small productions. But beyond funding, the festival is supportive of our local filmmakers.

At the media conference, some of the filmmakers from the 2024 edition shared how Puregold “babied” and “pampered” them.

“Grabe, super hands-on sila (Puregold),” said VJ Mendoza, the producer of one of the 2024 CinePanalo full-length feature films Road to Happy.  “A lot of things na hindi na dapat actually nila ginagawa, pero they extended a helping hand. So, I was very lucky na napabilang ako sa first edition.” 

Road to Happy, with the help of Puregold, will be showcased in India’s 2024 Jagran Film Festival, along with Carlo Obispo’s audience favorite A Lab Story, which will be part of the competitive section.

Dizelle Masilungan, 2024’s Panalong Student Director said, “Sobrang saya... As an aspiring storyteller, binigyan talaga ng Puregold kaming mga students ng platform para ikwento ang mga gusto naming ikwento (Very happy... As an aspiring storyteller, Puregold really gave us students a platform to tell the stories we want to tell).”

Always Panalo Short Film awardee Jenievive Adame of Smokey Journey shared that her chief struggle in bringing her script to life was finding support, but everything changed when she joined CinePanalo.

“Tas biglang dumating si Puregold, na ibinigay na lahat ng resources — fund, distribution and platform. All I had to do was do my craft and execute my passion and dedication ko sa art, sa film, in general. Kaya sobrang thankful na para akong bine-baby talaga ng Puregold para magawa ang gusto kong gawin (That’s why I’m so thankful — it feels like Puregold is really taking care of me so I can do what I want to do).”

The festival mandate is, in fact, to provide opportunities to students who may not have the same resources as established filmmakers.

Puregold’s senior marketing manager Ivy Piedad said, “When we first launched Puregold CinePanalo, we envisioned it to champion Filipino stories, advocate for student filmmakers by providing them with a platform for their dream short films and elevate the local film scene.”

Cahilig explained that Puregold does not prohibit CinePanalo film entries from screening and competing in other festivals. In fact, he said it is encouraged. This exposure is important for any filmmaker to reach a wider audience and for Filipino films to be consistently visible in the international arena.

Family-oriented films

Co, a cinephile himself whose favorite is Erik Matti’s On The Job, is particularly interested in stories that uplift and inspire the Filipino family. The festival’s theme remains “Kwentong Panalo ng Buhay.”

“Alam naman natin na Puregold, compared to other film festivals, ito lang ang kaisa-isang inspirational films lang ang focus. So, we’re talking about mga kwentong panalo ng buhay — these are family-oriented, inspiring and wholesome films, and concepts that are within the realm of inspiration and uplifting narratives,” said Cahilig.

Cahilig noted that CinePanalo accepts the genres of comedy, drama, romance, historical, sports, action and LGBTQ.

“This year, we can include animation because we have enough time for that. We can also explore musical, science fiction, adventure and even documentaries.”

He explicitly stated, however, that the Selection Committee will “automatically reject” stories that involve sex, horror, fantasy and suspense. But Cahilig mentioned that the action genre is welcome — as long as it is inspirational and family-oriented.

While this might sound restrictive to some artists, Puregold’s commitment to its wholesome brand reflects confidence in the Filipino creativity and imagination. Narrative and genre restrictions can still challenge and excite a filmmaker’s artistry. In fact, Cahilig shared that more prominent names in the industry — from acclaimed directors to A-list celebrities — are showing significant interest in the 2025 edition.

Beyond providing mere entertainment to movie lovers and engaging material for film critics, CinePanalo demonstrates that when an organization takes good care of all its participants — from filmmakers to media personnel — by being considerate and open to criticism and feedback, it becomes bigger, bolder, and more beloved.

CinePanalo will run from 14 to 25 March 2025 at the new Gateway Cineplex 18.