The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2026 recently presented the 26 participating original films and their extraordinarily talented makers at a lively media conference held at Quantum Skyview in Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City.
Alongside seasoned directors and actors joining this year’s filmfest are stoked-up aspirants and brave auteurs seeking to make a name in the industry through a diverse mix of movie genres.
Hosted by TV personality Migs Almendras, the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival mediacon served to bring excited festival participants within reach of their multi-generation audience. On stage, the artists spoke with passion about their projects while providing attendees with glimpses into this year’s films.
In attendance for the coming-of-age film “Apol of my Ai” were director Thop Nazareno as well as actors Zion Cruz and Rochelle Pangilinan.
Representing the fantastical “Beast” was producer Meg Bryan Bermudez, together with the film’s supporting cast of Candy Pangilinan, Karl Medina, Ruslan Jacob, and Dax Alejandro.
The quiet and moving drama “Mono No Aware” was represented at the event by director BC Amparado, producer Patricia Salic, as well as lead actor Juan Karlos Labajo.
The supernatural and proudly queer “Multwoh (Patay na Patay Sa’yo)” had director Rodina Singh in attendance alongside actors Sassa Gurl, Joao Constancia, Phi Palmos, Gaia Poly, and Inah Evans.
The otherworldly love story “Patay Gutom” had actors Khalil Ramos, Cris Villanueva, and Alwyn Uytingco joining co-directors Carl Joseph Papa and Ian Pangilinan.
The romantic comedy with a deadly twist “Stuck on You” saw Mikko Baldoza take the stage with lead stars Xyriel Manabat and River Joseph.
And last but not least, director Joseph Abello appeared to present “Wantawsan,” his ‘slice of life’ comedy with a twist of political dilemma.
Also in attendance for the event were the nineteen filmmakers participating in this year’s student shorts category. Hailing from all over the country, this new generation of cinematic voices are raring to leave a mark at this year’s upcoming festival.
“Every film in this year’s CinePanalo carries the passion of its creators,” says Ivy-Hayagan Piedad, festival chair of Puregold CinePanalo. “Giving these stories a platform where audiences can experience and celebrate them is our way of supporting Filipino artistry and contributing to the continued growth of Philippine cinema.”
PUREGOLD CINEPANALO FULL-LENGTH CATEGORY
“Apol of My Ai”
Director: Thop Nazareno
Starring: Zanjoe Marudo, Zion Cruz, and Rochelle Pangilinan
Logline: Bata lang si Apol pero binata na ang tingin niya sa kaniyang sarili. Masusubok ang kaniyang pagbibinata nang ma-inlove siya sa kaniyang choir teacher, at nang gumawa ang kaniyang tatay Poli ng isang desisyon na maglalayo sa kanilang loob. Kaya ba silang hilumin at muling paglapitin ng musika?
“Beast”
Director: Lawrence Fajardo
Starring: John Arcilla
Logline: After a final harvest forced upon him by the landlord, a farmer and his loyal carabao embark on a magical road trip to Manila, chasing the ghost of a niece the years stole from him.
“Mono No Aware”
Director: BC Amparado
Starring: Juan Karlos Labajo and Perry Dizon
Logline: In a quiet apartment in Japan, a Filipino kodokushi cleaner meets an elderly widower who asks him for one final favor before he dies. What begins as a promise becomes a quiet story of grief, family, and accepting life’s impermanence.
“Multwoh (Patay Na Patay Sa’yo)”
Director: Rodina Singh
Starring: Sassa Gurl and Joao Constancia
Logline: When a college queer dies suddenly in their dorm, they return as a ghost—not to seek revenge, but to say the one thing they never found the courage to say in life: “I love you.” A haunting, hilarious, and tender story about fear, desire, and the kind of love that refuses to die.
“Patay Gutom”
Directors: Carl Papa and Ian Pangilinan
Starring: Khalil Ramos, Ian Pangilinan, Agot Isidro, and Cris Villanueva
Logline: The story follows a grumpy shut-in whose third eye is accidentally opened after eating an offering meant for a charming but lonely ghost. Now bound together, they discover family secrets, shared heartaches, and a love that blurs the line between life and the afterlife.
“Stuck on You”
Director: Mikko Baldoza
Starring: Xyriel Manabat and River Joseph
Logline: A heartbroken manicurista accidentally takes on a hitman’s job, leading her to a deadly conspiracy where she must choose between saving her family or killing the man of her dreams.
“Wantawsan”
Director: Joseph Abello
Starring: Joross Gamboa, Rita Daniela, and Zion Cruz
Logline: A cash-strapped father receives money from the newly elected mayor he supported, but when he sets out to buy food for his son’s birthday that day, he’s thrust into a comical adventure that tests his wit and his values.
PUREGOLD CINEPANALO STUDENT SHORTS CATEGORY
SET A
“Starfish”
Director: John Clite Apolinar
Starring: VR Relosa, Nour Hooshmand, Jake Ulan, Floyd Tena, and Dads Valencia
Logline: Forced to return to his provincial hometown, a male sex worker confronts his estranged father, sister, and a town where oppression wears a more familiar face.
“Kun Hain, Bisan Diin. (Anywhere and Everywhere)”
Director: Jomarie Reyes
Starring: Pau Baluyan, Carla Zarcal, and Anton Nolasco
Logline: A young lawyer returns to Samar to look for her estranged activist mother before her wedding.
“Kanibal”
Director: Michael Baylon
Starring: Rowen Jean Ledesma, Roselle Lao, and Ma. Lourdes Maculada
Logline: Sa palengkeng hindi maiwasan ang pagbabago, kasabay nito na magbabago ang paniniwala at katawan ni Lea.
“Sa Mga Nagdaan at Lumipas”
Director: Ezaldea Carla Fernandez
Starring: Darelle Tiu, Aly Torres, and Karla Dipasupil
Logline: Ella, a queer archivist in mourning, reminisced about her lover by preserving a historical video documenting the first Pride March in the Philippines in 1994, in which they are both featured.
“Limlim”
Director: Samantha Beatriz Acoja Palaje
Starring: Zoey Madison Presentacion Lim and Angela Salga
Logline: A ten-year-old girl and her mother move into seclusion at an old chicken farm, where they are forced to confront their grief while starting a new life.
SET B
“Alumahan”
Director: Christian Melvin M. Arejola
Starring: Don Rishmond Cerbito, Zoey Madison Lim, and Jeremy Mayores
Logline: In a small provincial fishing town, 13-year-old Unyok, a grieving fish port helper bullied by his peers, seeks to belong in a violent youth gang and faces a brutal initiation rite.
“When Heaven Inched Towards Earth”
Director: Vinh Marco
Starring: André Miguel and Kaleb Ong
Logline: In a Catholic high school in Bulacan, a farm boy’s bond with a sacristan forces him to grapple with faith, shame, and the space between heaven and earth.
“No Mad is an Island”
Director: Carl Geronimo
Cast: Arjhay Mangulabnan and Vic Romano
Logline: In a vibrant fishing town, Matmat dreams of dancing like a fish, yet the world keeps casting nets around him.
“Tingi”
Director: Rowan De Aro
Starring: Jero Andrey Marcelino and Evangeline Argete Gigante
Logline: Inside a neighborhood sari-sari store where every transaction tells a story, a graduating student quietly saves every coin for college until an unexpected turn challenges the future he has carefully built.
“Ang Huling Banlaw ni Susan”
Director: Hezekiah M. Estorque
Starring: Jonalyn Mateo, Ian Laczi, Chayl Flores, and Jeffrey James
Logline: A Filipina labandera’s vivid fantasies slowly take over her reality, exposing the hidden cost of surviving in a broken system.
SET C
“Pulis Dunggab”
Director: Maxine Dela Bajan
Starring: Van Jordan Gacayan, Elj Seth Tababa, and Richel Ann Basiga
Logline: While playing his favorite game of Pulis Dunggab, 9-year-old Dongkoy stumbles into an encounter that transforms childhood make-believe into something all too real.
“The Sound of K”
Director: Jay Gabriel A. Cañada
Starring: Jay Gabriel A. Cañada
Logline: A young boy burdened by the fear of speaking discovers that finding his voice may require confronting the very sound he’s spent his life avoiding.
“Nakabinbin”
Director: Carlo Gula
Starring: Soliman V. Cruz
Logline: A widowed father must secure a death certificate to bury his daughter, only to learn that without proof she was ever born, the law leaves him no choice but to break it.
“Nang Matakasan ang Tagay”
Director: Giancarlo Santiago
Starring: Chino Alfonso and Jovic Gabriel Cardano
Logline: On the eve of his departure, a seaman drifts between a farewell drinking session with his friends and quiet moments with his son, until the tension between machismo and tenderness pushes him toward a reckoning he can no longer postpone.
SET D
“Teks Battle: Shoot Pati Pato!”
Director: John Russel Capule
Starring: Trisha Nicole Corpus, Kenneth Mendoza, Rhandylle Marius Obra, and Samantha Gleo
Logline: In a small barangay where a children’s game of teks reflects real power, Maya challenges Rod, the reigning champion turned tyrant, in a teks battle that could change the fate of their community.
“Kapag Tapos na ang Umpukan”
Director: Justine Lee Estinor
Starring: Oz Kenshin Rodas
Logline: A young man trapped between family obligation and personal ambition finds himself at a crossroads when the rituals of lambanog-making and a night of celebration force him to confront the courage he has long been stalling.
“12 Shots”
Director: Minnesota Flores
Starring: Nor Domingo, Kyrie Samodio, and Ethan King
Logline: In a dying Manila photo studio, a teenage apprentice inherits her mentor’s vintage camera and his penchant for the past—until a debt turns deadly, and the only mercy left is to walk the hours back to where it began.
“Bumtak Sara ti Nuangen (The Carabao’s Horns Have Cracked)”
Director: Lloyd Pereira
Starring: Belle Francisco and Riya Miranda
Logline: A young woman determined to find her mother is about to become their town’s first OFW, sending the townsfolk into a frenzy of over-the-top reactions.
“Miss Intrams”
Director: Henri Marie C. Belimac
Starring: Mariella Cuerpo, Mika Hamajo, and Diana Palma
Logline: A queer transmasc college student enters the campus Miss Intramurals pageant not to win, but to understand: is this who she is? Or is this the farewell to who she was?
The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival runs from September 23 to October 4 at Gateway Cineplex 18, TriNoma, Fairview Terraces, Ayala Malls Feliz, Ayala Malls Circuit, Ayala Malls Manila Bay and Market! Market!
Tickets are priced at ₱250 regular and ₱200 discounted, while a ₱2,000 festival pass gives moviegoers a way to take on the entire lineup. PWDs, senior citizens, students, national athletes and Aling Puring and Perks cardholders qualify for discounted tickets.
Festival passes will be available at the Gateway Cineplex 18 beginning September 22, and also TriNoma starting September 23.
The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2026 is sponsored by Alaska, Angel, Argentina, Ariel, Bingo, Birch Tree Fortified, Bear Brand, C2, Century Tuna, Champion, Chuckie, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Cream Silk, Datu Puti, Downy, GoodNom Fresh, Great Taste, Del Monte, Jack ‘N Jill, Knorr, Lucky Me!, Maggi, Magnolia Real Mayonnaise, Milo, Monde, MY San, Nestea, Nissin, Nivea, Palmolive Naturals, Pantene, Purefoods, Rebisco, Royal, Safeguard, Sprite, Surf, Wilkins, and Zonrox.
