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Puregold CinePanalo 2026 Removes Theme, Previous Genre Restrictions on Festival Entries!
- cinegeekspod
- Aug 30
- 2 min read
The third edition of the prestigious Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival is once again
open to aspiring filmmakers, this time without imposing restrictions on genre, topic, or
theme. In previous years, the festival centered around wholesome, inspiring stories that
were crafted with the theme “mga kwentong panalo ng buhay.”
For Puregold CinePanalo 2026, all applicants may take liberties with their choice of
themes. To grant them creative freedom to do their best work, the festival will accept
film genres that were previously unrepresented—horror, suspense, crime, and fantasy.
As long as the pitch offers a potential for excellence, it’s welcome at the Puregold
CinePanalo.
Puregold senior marketing manager and festival chair Ivy Hayagan-Piedad spoke on the
decision to change the mechanics for this year’s festival. “Sa unang dalawang taon ng
CinePanalo, nakita namin kung gaano kalalim ang pagmamahal at gaano kauhaw ang
ating Filipino filmmakers na magkwento ng ibang pananaw. This year, we’re opening
the festival to all genres and themes in order to showcase stories that are reflective of
that diverse voice and creativity,” says Hayagan-Piedad.
On top of the unprecedented creative opportunity, this year’s Puregold CinePanalo also
goes the extra mile with the financial grants on offer. Seven full-length film directors will
receive Php5 million each, the largest production grant in Philippine film festival history,
while twenty student filmmakers will receive P200,000 each.
Interested participants may now submit their applications online.
Full-length filmmakers may download https://tinyurl.com/PCPFFFullApp for contest
mechanics and application forms. Meanwhile, here’s the link for the student short
category: https://tinyurl.com/PCPFFShortsApp.
Applications for the full-length category close on 11:59 PM, September 10, 2025.
Student short applications will close on 11:59 PM, November 25, 2025. The directors selected to participate in the upcoming festival will have their films screened at Gateway Cineplex 18 from August 7-18, 2026. For further inquiries, potential applicants may email thesecretariat@cinepanalo.com or message its official Facebook page @puregoldcinepanalo!
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