After an arduous screening process, eight finalists emerged victorious, each earning a three million peso (P3,000,000.00) production grant and the chance to showcase their work at the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival.
The lineup of filmmakers for the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo includes: “Co-love,” Jill Singson Urdaneta; “Fleeting,” Catsi Catalan; “Food Delivery,” Baby Ruth Villarama; “Journeyman,” Christian Paolo Lat & Dominic Lat; “Olsen’s Day,” JP Habac; “Perlas sa Silangan,” TM Malones; “Sepak Takraw,” Mes De Guzman; and “Tagsibol,” Tara Illenberger
While the number of finalists for the festival was initially limited to seven, the selection committee found that the superior quality of the entries warranted the inclusion of one more finalist, and thereby one more recipient of the P3M grant.
“Giving the opportunity to eight (8) full-length stories to be official entries in Puregold CinePanalo 2025 is a reflection of the significant talent and craftsmanship of Filipino filmmakers,” said Puregold president Vincent Co. “We are committed to showcasing the vision of these young directors. And we are confident that supporting their films will enrich Philippine cinema.”
To be selected, each filmmaker had to compete against multiple applicants from all across the country. Following the initial screening, sixteen filmmakers were selected to go through a face-to-face pitch. From this choice list, only half were chosen to participate in the second-ever Puregold CinePanalo.
“These applicants went through a tough selection process,” said Puregold Senior Marketing Manager Ms. Ivy Hayagan-Piedad. “Just getting this far in the film festival is a testament to their dedication to their craft and to the brilliance of their ideas.”
Hayagan-Piedad was one of the six that comprised the Selection Committee, which included festival director Chris Cahilig, renowned directors Jeffrey Jeturian and Emmanuel Dela Cruz, and representatives of Republic Creative Creations, Inc. Sonny Bautista and Lyle Gonzales.
“Last year’s Puregold CinePanalo was a massive success and sent this festival on the road to becoming one of the country’s most prestigious film competitions,” said Cahilig. “This drove us to be incredibly meticulous in choosing which films to display in next year’s festival. The Puregold CinePanalo is here to tout only the best that Filipino filmmaking offers.”
The eight feature films will now have the chance to compete for the Puregold CinePanalo’s selection of awards. These will also get a chance to receive the Always Panalo Film Award for the film that best encapsulates the festival’s theme of celebrating uplifting stories of the Filipino condition.
Alongside the eight features, Puregold CinePanalo 2025 will also hold its student shorts competition. Twenty-five student filmmakers will receive a grant of one hundred and fifty thousand pesos (P150,000.00) each to create their film project for the world to see.
Each of the eight films, together with the 25 student short films, will be screened at the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, which is set to run in Gateway Cinemas from March 14 to 25, 2025.
