No theme, no prescribed stories. For its third edition, Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival is giving Filipino filmmakers greater freedom to tell the stories they want to tell.

After two editions built around “Mga Kwentong Panalo ng Buhay” and its focus on uplifting Filipino stories, CinePanalo is changing the formula this year.

This change was announced by festival director Christopher Cahilig during a press conference at Quantum Skyview at Gateway Mall 2 on 17 September. He said the decision came from a desire to “listen” to filmmakers and give them greater control over their narratives.

“This year, we made a change. We removed the theme,” Cahilig said in Filipino. “Not because we have nothing to say, but because we want to listen. We allowed our filmmakers the freedom to tell the stories they want to tell, show what they want to show, and say what they believe audiences need to hear.”

From an idea to the international stage

Cahilig also recalled CinePanalo’s beginnings and how Puregold backed the festival when it was still an idea.

“When we first launched CinePanalo, many people did not believe in it. Many doubted us and asked if we were really serious,” he said. “But Puregold took a chance because they believed in the ability and talent of Filipino filmmakers. They believed that if we gave Filipino stories a chance, they could compete, cross borders and reach places we never imagined.”

Films that began at CinePanalo have since reached audiences beyond the Philippines. Kurt Soberano’s Under a Piaya Moon, the inaugural festival’s Best Picture winner, was featured at the 2024 Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora in Morocco.

Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s Pushcart Tales represented the Philippines at the Pattaya Film Festival in Thailand, while TM Malones’ Salum earned a Special Mention for actress Christine Mary Demaisip at the Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora. The film also appeared at the Dhaka International Film Festival and Asian Film Festival Barcelona.

The international run continued with the 2025 batch. Jill Singson Urdaneta’s Co-Love, Mes de Guzman’s Sepak Takraw and Catsi Catalan’s Fleeting were featured at the Asian Film Festival Barcelona, with Sepak Takraw also screening at the Dhaka International Film Festival.

CinePanalo’s student filmmakers have also brought their work abroad. Reutsche Colle Lima’s Tiil ni Lola reached the Asia-Pacific Youth Micro Movie Festival in Hong Kong, Joel Ferrer’s Road to Happy appeared in the Children Showcase of the Jagran Film Festival in India, and Eugene Torres’ One Day League: Dead Mother, Dead All screened at the Exposures Montréal Trans Film Festival in Canada.

A lineup without boundaries

With the theme gone, the third edition leaves its subject matter open to the filmmakers. The lineup has 19 student short films and seven full-length films across different genres and subjects.

The seven full-length entries are Apol of My Ai by Thop Nazareno, Beast by Lawrence Fajardo, Mono No Aware by BC Amparado, Multwoh (Patay Na Patay Sa’yo) by Rodina Singh, Patay Gutom by Carl Papa and Ian Pangilinan, Stuck on You by Mikko Baldoza, and ­ by Joseph Abello.

The festival also takes a new spot on the local film calendar this year, after Cinemalaya’s August edition and before QCinema’s November festival.

Speaking to DAILY TRIBUNE, Cahilig said he sees CinePanalo alongside Cinemalaya and other local festivals as part of a broader movement for Philippine cinema rather than as competing events.

“Cinemalaya, CinePanalo, and other local film festivals are part of this bigger movement to help Filipino filmmakers,” he said.

Only the beginning

For Cahilig, the removal of the theme gives CinePanalo room to grow with its filmmakers and the industry it seeks to support.

“Different perspectives, voices and visions. But inside the cinema, all of these come together in one big story: our story as Filipinos,” he said. “For me, that is the true beauty of Puregold CinePanalo. As festival director, I am filled with joy because here we see dreams that were once just ideas come to life. But I know we are only beginning.”

This is where CinePanalo’s third edition becomes interesting. Three years into the festival, it is no longer asking filmmakers to fit their stories into a predetermined idea of what a “panalo” story should be. It is giving them the space to decide what is worth telling, and trusting audiences to meet them there.

The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2026 runs from 23 September to 4 October at Gateway Cineplex 18, TriNoma, Fairview Terraces, Ayala Malls Feliz, Ayala Malls Circuit, Ayala Malls Manila Bay and Market! Market!.