Mc Richard Paglicawan
The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival has revealed the Top 7 finalists for its full-length category, signaling its most ambitious edition to date.
The official announcement took place on Saturday, October 25, during a media reveal in Quezon City attended by the finalists, industry leaders, and festival partners.
Chosen from over 200 submitted scripts, the seven winning filmmakers each received a ₱5 million production grant to bring their stories to life and compete at next year’s festival.
The selected projects are:
- “Wantawsan” by Joseph Abello
- “Mono No Aware” by BC Amparado
- “Apol of My AI” by Thop Nazareno
- “Patay Gutom (Dead Hungry)” by Carl Papa and Ian Pangilinan
- “Beast” by Lawrence Fajardo
- “Stuck on You” by Mikko Baldoza
- “Multwoh (Patay na Patay Sa’yo)” by Rodina Singh
The finalists were joined onstage by festival director Chris Cahilig and CMB Films’ Jim Baltazar for a celebratory photo—marking the beginning of their journey toward the big screen. The seven full-length films will premiere alongside 20 student-made short films, reflecting CinePanalo’s continuing commitment to championing both established and emerging Filipino storytellers.
During the event, each filmmaker shared insights about their upcoming works and expressed gratitude for being part of the program. Thop Nazareno called the selection “an honor and an opportunity to tell stories that inspire,” while BC Amparado revealed that his film, which will be shot in Japan, aims to showcase “the global reach of Filipino creativity.” Joseph Abello, who last released a film in 2018, said he was “grateful for a chance to reignite the fire of filmmaking.”
Meanwhile, Rodina Singh—joined by social media star Sassa Gurl, one of her film’s cast members—was named the final grant recipient, completing this year’s powerhouse lineup.
Festival director Chris Cahilig said the selection process was both rigorous and inspiring.
“Unlike other festivals, we required full script submissions,” Cahilig shared. “Our call for entries lasted just two weeks, yet we received 203 complete scripts. For those who want to join next time—start writing now.”
Cahilig explained that this year’s edition placed stronger emphasis on casting and commercial appeal, without compromising story quality.
“We want to bring in strong audience traffic, especially for the commercial films,” he said. “We imposed higher demands on casting this year since the budgets are larger—but always with the story as our core.”
He added that the festival leaned more toward fictional narratives, as several politically charged entries were submitted.
“We had many political stories this year, but we have certain boundaries. We preferred fiction over real-life accounts,” he said. “As a festival, our past experiences define who we are—and we’re always after stories that stay with people.”
Now on its third year, the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival continues to grow as a platform that empowers Filipino filmmakers to tell meaningful, relatable, and world-class stories—proof that the future of Philippine cinema is as vibrant as ever.
