DESCRIBED as ‘variety of food that you have to try because while everything is different, each have their unique and palatable taste’ by Puregold festival director and award-winning filmmaker/producer Chris Cahilig, the lineup for 2026 Puregold CinePanalo was finalized, with seven films being set for production to the big screen.
From 203 submissions, Puregold whittled it down to seven ‘unique’ and ‘appealing’ scripts to be realized for film, granting them each P5 million fund for production.
Cahilig told media that they were very stern and discreet in selecting the scripts as they would be giving the winning filmmakers their biggest grant to date.
True to the festival’s spirit of creativity and artistry, the films presented diversity in their concepts. Wantawsan by Joseph Abello follows a father’s love to his son through a P1,000 bill; Mono no Aware by BC Amparado is set in Japan, tackling a story of life and death, and the sadness of things; Apol of my Ai by Thop Nazareno will be a love rivalry between a dad and son who both fall in love with a teacher; Patay Gutom (Dead Hungry) by Carl Papa and Ian Pangilinan will experiment on different forms and themes of love;
Beast by Lawrence Fajardo, on the other hand, entails a farmer’s story with his kalabaw (carabao) who decide to travel to Manila; Stuck on You by Mikko Baldoza follows a hopeless romantic ‘manicurista’ who got an assassination assignment; Multwoh by Rodina Singh, finally, is an LGBT+ story about finding a way to say ‘I love you’ from the afterlife to their lover.
‘Diversity, originality of the story, and, at the same time, how attractive they are to international festivals and local markets. Are they crowd drawers?’ Chris posited when asked what stood out about the seven entries of the 2026 fest.
Now in its third year, with their past films even competing at international filmfests, CinePanalo ’26 promises to deliver quality films that Chris Cahilig still hopes could reach local and international acclaim. ‘Gusto talaga naming makapasok sa mga A-list festivals, at gusto naming ‘yung mga pelikula ay panoorin ng maraming tao,’ he said.
Puregold senior marketing manager Ivy Hayagan-Piedad said the ‘upcoming 2026 Puregold CinePanalo is going to be the festival’s biggest installment yet.’