With its focus on local narrative and talent, the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival is highly anticipated by the Philippine film industry. The international attention further cements the festival’s significance in promoting Philippine cinema internationally that entries from its 2024 premiere continue to garner, showcasing the inventiveness of Filipino filmmakers.
Notably, three of the 2024 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival’s top winners were selected for presentation at various international film festivals. Best Picture winner Under a Piaya Moon, directed by Kurt Soberano, was featured at the 2024 Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora in Morocco from Dec. 9 to 13.
Meanwhile, A Lab Story, directed by Carlo Obispo, which won the Always Panalo Film and Audience Choice awards, was screened at the 2024 Asian Film Festival Barcelona in Spain from Oct. 24 to Nov. 3 and at the 2024 Brunei Film Blitz from Dec. 18 to 20.
Additionally, the Special Jury Prize for Short Film winner Text FIND DAD and Send to 2366, directed by Kent Cadungog, was featured at the 2024 Singapore International Film Festival from Nov. 28 to Dec. 8 and is set to be showcased at the Emirates Film Festival from Jan. 15 to 18.
Beyond these three films, other entries from the first Puregold CinePanalo Festival also received international recognition. The student short Tiil ni Lola, directed by Reutsche Colle Lima, was presented at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Youth Micro Movie Festival in Hong Kong from Nov. 21 to 23.
Moreover, Joel Ferrer’s Road to Happy was featured in the non-competitive Children Showcase section of the 2024 Jagran Film Festival, while A Lab Story competed in the International Feature category.
Eugene Torres’ One Day League: Dead Mother, Dead All was screened at the 2024 Exposures Montreal Trans Film Festival, which concluded in September.
Joining Text FIND DAD and Send to 2366 at the Emirates Film Festival is Jenievive Adame’s student short Smokey Journey.
For Puregold senior marketing manager Ivy Hayagan-Piedad, the recognition of Puregold CinePanalo’s winning entries at international film festivals demonstrates that talented Filipino filmmakers simply needed a platform like Puregold CinePanalo to bring their dream projects to life.
“The ability of young Filipino filmmakers to create masterpieces has never been in question. It has always been about opportunity,” said Hayagan-Piedad. “On behalf of all the organizers of the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, we’re proud to have provided them with these opportunities. It proves that when you give Filipino artists a canvas, they will create art the entire world can appreciate.”
CinePanalo festival director Chris Cahilig echoed Hayagan-Piedad’s sentiment, expressing optimism that the success of the 2024 entries will generate excitement for the 2025 edition.
“Hopefully, the success of our 2024 CinePanalo batch encourages more people to see what the upcoming 2025 edition has to offer,” Cahilig said. “Together with Puregold, we aim to make the next CinePanalo even bigger and better.”
The eight finalists of the Puregold CinePanalo 2025 will each receive a P3 million grant, while the 25 student shorts will each receive a P150,000 production grant. The eight films and 25 student shorts will premiere at the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, set to run from March 14 to 25 at Gateway Cinemas.