Why this Film Festival deserves love and respect
With the success of its inaugural year, the sophomore season of the festival offers professional and student filmmakers across our 7,100 islands greater opportunities to showcase their artistry, creativity, daring, drive and passion for the cinematic arts
Getting the love and respect of filmmakers, artists and audiences is the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival. This is because the festival showcases cinematic gems with fresh narratives that highlight inspiring and uplifting stories. Directors are given opportunities to realize their dream projects, and actors shine on the silver screen with characters portrayed with authenticity.
Kurt Soberano’s Under a Piaya Moon, the festival’s inaugural full-length film, not only received rave reviews but also became a box office sensation during its theatrical run in Bacolod City and at an upscale cinema mall. It also earned Jeff Moses, a GMA Sparkle artist, the Best Actor award for his career-defining performance as a young man striving to uphold his family’s baking tradition.
Other major winners include Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s Push Cart Tales, Carlo Obuspo’s A Lab Story, and the short films Last Shift by Ronjay-C Mendiola and Smokey Journey by Jenievive Adame. These films are a testament to the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival’s commitment to narrative excellence, recognizing the director as the motion picture’s captain and celebrating stories that encourage and uplift humanity.
Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival poster.
The sophomore year
With the success of its inaugural year, the second season of the festival offers professional and student filmmakers across our 7,100 islands greater opportunities to showcase their artistry, creativity, daring, drive and passion for the cinematic arts.
Bigger and bolder — these words fuel the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival as it searches for seven full-length directors to receive a production grant worth P3,000,000 each, and 25 selected student short film directors to receive a grant of P150,000 each.
Festival director Chris Cahilig said: “This year, seven full-length film grants will be awarded, surpassing last year’s six. We are on the lookout for panalo stories — narratives that fire the imagination and bring out the best in every Filipino.”
Puregold’s senior marketing manager Ivy Piedad said in a statement: “When we first launched Puregold CinePanalo, we envisioned it as a platform to champion Filipino stories, advocate for student filmmakers by providing them with a venue for their dream short films, and elevate the local film scene.”
