LIST: Shortlisted entries in Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival's full-length, student shorts categories

The highly anticipated Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival officially announced a total of 55 shortlisted entries out of 270 submissions it received on its inaugural run. 

Puregold CinePanalo is a film festival that aims to showcase the triumph and resilience of the Filipino spirit and the beauty of everyday wins in life. Retail giant Puregold named 15 established and promising directors for the full-length category, while 40 student filmmakers made it to the first round of the short film category.

Shortlisted entries will move on to the next steps of the competition, wherein Puregold will award a substantial grant of P2,500,000 for each of the five selected directors in the full-length category, and 25 grants worth P100,000 each for the promising amateur directors in the short film category.

Vincent Co, President of Puregold, expressed his gratitude and excitement following the overwhelming response to the festival's call for submissions. "We are incredibly happy about the numerous entries we received, with student entries coming from all over the country–Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.”

Puregold CinePanalo received 125 entries for the full-length category, and 135 entries for the student shorts category.  

Shortlisted directors in the full-length category are as follows: 

Puregold announces shortlisted directors for the full-length category of the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival; and among them are Carlo Obispo, Xian Lim, Viggo Franco, Joel Ferrer, and Joseph Abello. 

Alphie Velasco, Juan Carlo Tarobal, Easy Ferrer, RC Delos Reyes, and Jaz Bernardino make it to the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival shortlist for the full-length film category.

Filmmakers Raynier Brizuela, Kurt Soberano, Eugene Torres, Sigrid Bernardo, Mark Norman Boquiren and Roman Perez Jr. are in the shortlist of the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival full-length film category, gaining an opportunity to win a P2,500,000 film grant. 

Meanwhile, the shortlisted directors for the student shorts category are:

Students from all over the country make it to the shortlist of the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival student short film category. 

The judges for the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival are Ivy Hayagan-Piedad, Puregold's Senior Marketing Manager; Chris Cahilig, the festival director and filmmaker; directors Lemuel Lorca and Emmanuel dela Cruz, recognized for their contributions to Philippine cinema; and Tito Valiente, writer and film critic. With their combined expertise, the festival is set to receive fair and comprehensive evaluations of the exceptional entries.

Vincent adds, "Puregold remains dedicated to our retailtainment initiatives. Through CinePanalo, and the remarkable creativity of students and directors, we continue to connect with our loyal customers and new audiences outside our stores."

Chris Cahilig, Puregold CinePanalo festival director and an esteemed filmmaker, shares, "The entries we received embody artistic excellence. While it was challenging to narrow down our selection, we are genuinely pleased with the deep pool of remarkable talent within the Filipino filmmaking industry, and it will be an honor to show these films to more audiences."

The final phase will see Puregold's careful selection of the ultimate finalists from the shortlist, who will then proceed with script finalization and subsequent production. 

All participants are required to submit their completed films by March 1, 2024, with short films having a runtime of 20 to 30 minutes and full-length features extending to a minimum of 90 minutes.

The prestigious Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival will showcase the completed films for three days at the Gateway Cinemas in Cubao from March 8 to 10, 2024, with possible regional screenings to follow.

Apart from the generous grants, the final Puregold CinePanalo films will be eligible for the coveted awards to be presented on March 9, adding an extra layer of surprise to and anticipation for the event.

Fully produced short film entries will likewise be uploaded to the official Puregold Channel on YouTube, joining the roster of the channel’s successful digital narratives, “GVBoys,” “Ang Babae sa Likod ng Face Mask,” “52 Weeks,” “Ang Lalaki sa Likod ng Profile,” and “My Plantito.” 

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