CinePanalo 2026 moves to October, embraces bolder vision

Year 3 of the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival is about serious competition and excellence. “We’re focusing on the craft this time,” festival director Chris Cahilig recently shared. “Now, the theme is simply ‘Panalo sa Husay.’” 

A week ago, the seven feature films in the main competition of the young festival were unveiled to the media and the 15 filmmaker finalists at Gateway Cineplex in true dramatic, suspenseful fashion.

From family-oriented to full-genre

The festival has rebranded itself from its previous — and strictly — family-oriented editions that once shunned sex, horror, fantasy and suspense. 

“Some are very commercial, some are more art house, and overall, the lineup is quite eccentric and diverse…. We want to experiment — because it’s not just about commercial films without artistic merit. We believe that even commercial films can be elevated, improved, and even compared to art films, both technically and in terms of storytelling,” Cahilig told the media in an impromptu interview before the unveiling.

Record-breaking grants

From over 200 screenplay submissions whittled down to 15 finalists, only seven filmmakers emerged as winners of a five-million-peso grant, the biggest in Philippine film festival history. The grants have grown significantly over the years. 

Puregold, which began CinePanalo in 2024, started with a P2.5-million grant per film, then P3 million the following year, and now an additional P2 million — plus limited free use of equipment through partner rental CMB and Canon Philippines. 

This will give filmmakers more breathing room to focus on storytelling instead of mere survival, with the incremental increase each year showing Puregold’s growing trust in filmmakers’ capability to deliver beyond the “brand film” label. 

“Puregold CinePanalo is giving its biggest grants to date, largesse that all seven participants truly deserve by showing us the passion, creativity and ‘Panalo sa Husay’ spirit that only Filipino filmmakers can bring,” Cahilig said. 

Festival schedule and short films

Cahilig shared that the 2026 festival will kick off in October, no longer its usual summer schedule. “Because we’re held much earlier than most festivals, we don’t want the films to be forgotten by the time the year ends,” he told this author. The festival also announced that the short film competition will be trimmed to 20 entries next year.

Seven feature films in competition

The seven screenplays that won the P5 million grants and will compete next year are Wantawsan by Joseph Abello and Mono No Aware by Pampanga-based filmmaker BC Amparado. Cinemalaya alumnus Thop Nazareno secures a spot with Apol of My Ai, while animation filmmaker Carl Joseph Papa will co-direct Patay Gutom (Dead Hungry) with first-time director and actor Ian Pangilinan. Festival regular Lawrence Fajardo earns a spot with Beast.

CineSilip Film Festival alumnus Mikko Baldoza makes the cut with Stuck on You, and fellow CineSilip alumna Rodina Singh rounds out the elite seven with Multwoh (Patay na Patay Sa’yo). Singh recently won Best Director at CineSilip for Dreamboi.

Finding its voice

If SinagMaynila champions the indie soul, Cinemalaya leans toward social and political themes, CineSilip celebrates erotica, QCinema remains international, and MMFF upholds the Filipino family mainstream, CinePanalo may still be finding its true voice and branding. 

But whatever it becomes, with its bigger budget and massive support, we can only hope to discover true Filipino film gems — because that’s what ultimately matters. Whether sexy, commercial, art house, or indie, what we all want is to leave the cinema fulfilled and proud of the Filipino filmmaker.