THIRTY-ONE directors have received film grants that will allow them to compete in the inaugural Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, as announced at a Jan. 23 press conference at Artson Events Place, Quezon City.
Ivy Hayagan-Piedad, Puregold’s senior manager for marketing, told the media that the festival is a platform to “uphold education and be a catalyst in the film medium that can be passed on to future generations.”
“You may be wondering why the store that is ‘always panalo’ (always winning) is shifting to this, but it is our passion to enable the youth of today to make these materials come to life,” Ms. Hayagan-Piedad said.
“It’s difficult to be a filmmaker in this country because it requires connections, publicity, timing. We want to help with that first step. One panalo push might be what can make a young, aspiring director become the next Lino Brocka, Brillante Mendoza, or Peque Gallaga,” she added.
Six full-length films and 25 short films were chosen from over 200 pitches, all adhering to the requirement of having an inspiring, family friendly message.
The full-length finalists were granted P2.5 million each to produce their films. They are:
Kurt Soberano’s Under the Piaya Moon. Set in 1988 after the sugar crisis in the province of Negros Occidental, the film follows a boy and his girlfriend who try to revamp their bakery with the help of the boy’s grandparents.
Eugene Torres’ One Day League: Dead Mother, Dead All, a sports comedy with multiple timelines about a chosen family of gays and transwomen who must join forces to win the league.
Sigrid Bernardo’s Pushcart Tales, about three employees of a grocery and three customers who are trapped in the store when a sudden disaster strikes, bringing them face to face with the different disasters in their own lives.
Raynier Brizuela’s Boys at the Back is an inspiring comedy that follows classmates who are repeaters in school and who must graduate in order to defy everyone’s view of them as failures.
Joel Ferrer’s Road to Happy, is a road film about a self-proclaimed celebrity who encounters many unexpected challenges on the way to his next hosting gig in Atimonan, Quezon.
Carlo Obispo’s A Lab Story follows an Aeta girl seeking love and romance but who instead finds an innate talent for agriculture, leading her to join a national agricultural quiz bee to overcome bullying and other injustices.
Meanwhile, the 25 short films by student directors were granted P100,000 each. They are:
Jenievive B. Adame’s Smokey Journey (STI College Cubao)
Ma. Rafaela Mae Abucejo’s Saan Ako Pinaglihi? (Polytechnic University of the Philippines or PUP)
Alexa Moneii Agaloos’ Ka Benjie (PUP)
Kent Michael Cadungog’s Text FIND DAD and Send to 2366 (University of the Philippines or UP)
John Pistol L. Carmen’s Repeater si Peter (Bicol University)
Chrisha Eseo Cataag’s Hallway Scholar (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng San Pablo)
Patricia W. Dalluay’s Lola, Lola, Paano ba ‘Yan? (PUP)
Joanah Pearl Demonteverde’s Kang Pagpuli Ko (UP – Visayas)
Joshua Andrey A. Doce’s I Am Mutya and I Thank You! (Bicol State College of Applied Science and Technology)
Neil M. Espino’s Sa Hindi Paghahangad (De La Salle Lipa)
Terrence Gale Fernandez’s Kaibigan ko si Batman (PUP)
Daniel Gil’s Distansya (Ateneo de Davao University)
Alexandra Lapid’s Queng Apag (Mapúa University)
Reutsche Colle Rigurosa Lima’s Tiil ni Lola (University of San Carlos)
Dizelle C. Masilungan’s Kung Nag-aatubili (University of Santo Tomas)
Jose Mikyl Medina’s Lutong Bahay (De La Salle University)
Ronjay-C Mendiola’s Last Shift (PUP)
Mark Terence Molave’s Paano po gumawa ng collage college? (PUP)
Jhunel Ruth A. Monterde’s Si Mary May Crush Kay Tess (De La Salle College of Saint Benilde)
Doxford D. Perlas’ Naduea Eoman Si Brownie (Brownie’s Lost Again!) (UP – Visayas)
Andrea S. Ponce’s Layag sa Pangarap (PUP – Sta. Mesa)
Edz Haniel Teñido Purificacion’s Dzai Dzai Dzai Delilah (Mapúa Malayan Colleges Laguna)
John Wilbert Llever Sucaldito’s Tambal nga Sabaw (Far Eastern University)
Tyrone Lean J. Taotao’s Abandoned Lullabies (PUP – Sta. Mesa)
Marian Jayce R. Tiongzon’s May Kulay Rosas Ba Sa Bahaghari? (UP – Visayas)
The members of the selection committee were: film and TV director Jeffrey Jeturian; film critic Tito Valiente; filmmaker Victor Villanueva; Puregold senior marketing manager Ivy Hayagan-Piedad; Lyle Gonzales of Republic Creative; and Puregold CinePanalo festival director Chris Cahilig.
On top of the film grants, all finalists will receive complimentary color grading from Optima Digital for their respective films, as well as essential groceries from Puregold to further support them during the production phase.
The finished films will be screened at the Gateway Cinemas in Cubao from March 15 to 17, followed by potential regional screenings. The short films will be available on Puregold’s official social media channels. — Brontë H. Lacsamana