Filmmaking in the Philippines has once again effectively penetrated the Western Visayas region, particularly Iloilo province. Two Hiligaynon full-length films — Salum directed by TM Malones, and Tigkiwili helmed by Tara Illenberger — won a number of top prizes at the second edition of the notably successful ongoing Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival at the Gateway 2 Cinema in Cubao, QC. 

Over the years, Pinoy moviemakers have chosen Iloilo and the Western Visayas region as filming locations, showcasing the area’s rich culture and scenic landscapes.

Among the memorable Pinoy films helmed in Iloilo was the late Celso Ad. Castillo’s Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa in 1974. The first movie done by the Pinay Miss Universe Gloria Diaz, it was shot on Sicogon Island in Carles, Iloilo. 

Notes from AI (Artificial Intelligence) apps cite Pikyaw (2014) as “the first feature-length animated film dubbed in Hiligaynon and  produced by artists from Iloilo City.” The apps also noted that Batsoy, directed by Ronald Espinosa Batallones, was shot in Iloilo and competed in the 2022 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The film is about two young brothers who work hard as firewood gatherers so they could travel to the city to satiate their craving for batsoy, a delicacy in Iloilo.

Quite well-known is Kargo filmed in Guimaras by Malones which won the Audience Choice award also at  the 2022 Cinemalaya. Max Eigenmann top-billed the movie about a widowed mother seeking the killers of her husband and daughter. 

Malones began his filmmaking career as a cinematographer in indie films. He became a director in 2008, though he went on to accept jobs as a much in demand cinematographer — including those directed by Illenberger.

Kaluskos is another 2022 Cinemalaya entry shot in Silay, Negros island in  the Western Visayas. Roman S. Perez Jr., now largely identified with VMX (formerly Vivamax), helmed the psychological thriller headlined by Colleen Garcia. Kaluskos is about a single mother stuck in a custody battle who, one day,  finds someone underneath her young daughter’s bed who looks exactly like the daughter. But the single mom knows the girl is not her daughter. 

Some artistic and production staff of the aforementioned films are also prominently involved in the award-winning 2025 CinePanalo entries mainly funded by Puregold chain of supermarkets.

The Western Visayas region also hosts the CineKasimanwa: Western Visayas Film Festival, which showcases movies shot in the region, further promoting very competent filmmaking talents

At the CinePanalo awards night  on 19 March at The Elements, Eton Centris in Quezon City, Salum took home four trophies for Panalong Pelikula (best film), Panalo sa Production Design (Kyle Fermindoza), Panalo sa Sound Design (Fatima Nerikka Salim and Immanuel Verona), and Panalo sa Musical Scoring (Armor Rapista). Salum also pocketed a cash prize of P250,000.

Salum (meaning “to dive” in Hiligaynon) is about a father (portrayed by Allen Dizon) and daughter (indie teen actress Christine Mary Demaisip) who work as scallop divers to earn a meager living in northern Gigantes Islands, in Carles, Iloilo, where shellfish is plentiful. The narrative is simple, centered on a father’s deep love for his daughter, although he is unable to provide the comforts that she deserves.

Malones has been directing films since 2013, beginning with shortfilms, such as Salvi: Ang Padayon. He studied filmmaking at the international film and TV school in Cebu.

Illenberger’s Tigkiliwi garnered seven trophies including Panalong Karangalan Mula sa Hurado (Jury Award) and Panalo sa Kwento (best screenplay, written by Illenberger, too). The charming film about a community of misfits also swept the acting awards, including Panalong Aktres for Ruby Ruiz, Panalong Pangalawang Aktres (Gabby Padilla), Panalong Pangalawang Aktor for Jeffrey Jiruma (a child actor), and Best Ensemble Acting.

Tigkiwili actually won the most number of trophies from the festival: seven in all.

Illenberger has been directing indie films, though people hardly know her.  Her first was in Cinemalaya in 2008 where her Brutus: Ang Paglalakbay, clinched the Special Jury Prize. The film deals with two young boys working as smuggler of illegal logs in Mindoro by hiding them under a raft which they ferry across a wild river. 

Illenberger, a Filipino-German, also directed High Tide, a film on how mangroves save coastal-dwelling Filipinos, which won Best Picture at the second To-Farm Film Festival in 2017. (The last To-Farm Film Festival was held in 2018, from 12 to 18 September). 

At the awards night, Malones and Illenberger turned out even more impressive with their short thank-you speeches. They are not the oratorical kind of winners who deliver long, high-flying speeches. 

In an interesting turn of events at the awards night, two ties were declared. The Panalong Aktor trophy was shared between JP Larroder as Tata of Tigkiliwi and Khalil Ramos as the titular Olsen in Olsen’s Day. On the other hand, both Journeyman and Olsen’s Day were declared winners of the Panalo sa Cinematography category. Filmmaker JP Habac of Olsen’s Day bagged the Panalong Direktor award. 

Journeyman, directed by the sibling-tandem of Christian Paolo and Dominic Lat, took home a total of six trophies for Panalo Sa International Jury, Panalo sa Cinematography, Panalo sa Film Poster, the MTRCB Special Award for Responsableng Paglikha, Panalo sa Brand Intrusion, and the Puregold Always Panalo Film, which it shared with the romantic-comedy film Fleeting by Catsi Catalan. 

The Lat brothers are based in Canada, where they grew up, though both were born in the Philippines and later studied variously at the international film school in Cebu.

Christian Paolo previously directed a boxing film for Cinemalaya titled Ginhawa, topbilled by Andrew Ramsay, younger brother of actor Derek Ramsay, who studied acting in the US. Dominic Lat was the film’s cinematographer. Ruby Ruiz portrayed the young boxer’s mother. 

Popular film and TV stars were actually among the nominees in the acting awards though they didn’t have the good fortune of winning. Among them are Romnick Sarmenta, JC Santos, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Allen Dizon, Jameson Blake, KD Estrada, Alexa Ilacad, Kira Balinger, Janella Salvador, and RK Bagatsing. 

Each award was deliberated upon by judges that included Festival director Christopher Cahilig, Festival chair Ivy Hayagan-Piedad,  Republic Creative Creations, Inc. representative Sonny Bautista, award-winning filmmakers Jeffrey Jeturian and Mae Cruz-Alviar, writer and producer Moira Lang, and Estonian filmmaker Tiina Lokk, the festival director of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

We will report next time on the results of the students’ short films categories of the festival. The short film categories had more judges than those for the full-lengths as there were 25 short film entries from various parts of the country, including Bukidnon in Mindanao. A sizable crowd of student filmmakers, actors, artistic and technical staff at tented the awards night and they vibrantly cheered each other practically in all announcements of nominees and winners. Their clapping and admiring screams kept the night alive. It was a unique awards night with no intermission musical performances. Now we know that no-intermission numbers is perfectly OK!

This year’s CinePanalo saw increased grants for all entries, with P3 million each for the full-length entries, and P150,000 each for student shorts. The festival was also supported in large part by its partner organizations ​​Terminal Six Post, CMB Film Services Inc., Gateway Cineplex 18, MFP Rentals, the MTRCB,  and the Mowelfund Film Institute.

“The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival will always be fueled by a deep love for the art of cinema, and an even deeper ambition to show what Philippine talent and passion has to offer,” said Festival Chair Ivy Hayagan-Piedad. 

“With the CinePanalo having reached a successful second edition, the possibilities are now endless. We can’t wait for all the wonderful films yet to grace the Puregold CinePanalo in all the years to come.”

The festival continues to screen exclusively at the Gateway Cineplex 18, until 25 March. Regular tickets are P250, with discounts available for students, PWDs, seniors, Tindahan ni Aling Puring, and Perks Card members for P200. Meanwhile, festival passes for the entire experience cost P2,000, granting holders entrance to all official movie entries.