Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival Mediacon Unveils Philippine Cinema’s Brightest
The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival returns this year with a diverse lineup of stories that bring the impossible to life and turn the most whimsical ideas into cinematic realities.
Words Gerie Marie Consolacion
Photos courtesy of Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival
September 23, 2026
Photo during the PCPFF Mediacon
From a road trip with a carabao to a queer ghost story, 26 films and their casts took the stage at Gateway Mall 2 ahead of the festival’s September 23 opening.
Manila’s independent film scene converged at Quantum Skyview in Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City, as the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2026 introduced its full slate of 26 original films to press and industry guests.
The gathering brought together veteran directors, rising actors, and a new wave of student filmmakers, all sharing the same stage in anticipation of the festival’s theatrical run.
A Stage for Every Generation of Storyteller
Student shorts entry '12 Shots' Production Team during the PCPFF Mediacon
Hosted by TV personality Migs Almendras, the media conference gave festival participants a direct line to their audience, with artists speaking candidly about the films they’ve poured themselves into.
Chris Cahilig, the Festival Director shared that for this year’s film festival, themes were removed as they want to listen to every filmmaker's voice. This alone, they aim to see how every filmmaker has their own “pagtingin sa buhay”.
The lineup spans genres and tones, coming-of-age drama to horror-comedy to political satire, reflecting the eclectic character CinePanalo has built its identity around.
Representing the coming-of-age story Apol of My Ai were director Thop Nazareno alongside actors Zion Cruz and Rochelle Pangilinan. The fantastical Beast sent producer Meg Bryan Bermudez to the mic, joined by supporting cast members Candy Pangilinan, Karl Medina, Ruslan Jacob, and Dax Alejandro. For the hushed, contemplative Mono No Aware, director BC Amparado appeared with producer Patricia Salic and lead actor Juan Karlos Labajo.
The supernatural, openly queer Multwoh (Patay na Patay Sa’yo) brought out director Rodina Singh with actors Sassa Gurl, Joao Constancia, Iyah Mina, Yani Villarosa, Gaia Poly, Pipay, and Inah Evans.
Full length entry 'Multwoh (Patay Na Patay Sa'Yo) director Rodina Singh together with the casts at PCPFF Mediacon
Co-directors Carl Joseph Papa and Ian Pangilinan fronted the otherworldly romance Patay Gutom, flanked by actors Khalil Ramos, Cris Villanueva, and Alwyn Uytingco. Mikko Baldoza took the stage for the romantic comedy-with-a-deadly-twist Stuck on You, alongside leads Xyriel Manabat and River Joseph. Closing out the full-length roster, director Joseph Abello introduced Wantawsan, a slice-of-life comedy tangled up in political intrigue.
Nineteen student filmmakers from across the country also took part, representing the festival’s shorts category and signaling, as the event framed it, cinema’s next generation finding its footing.
“Every film in this year’s CinePanalo carries the passion of its creators,” said 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.”
The Full-Length Lineup
Full length entry 'Apol of my Ai' director Thop Nazareno together with the casts at PCPFF Mediacon
The festival’s main slate pairs established names with fresh voices across eight features. In Apol of My Ai, director Thop Nazareno tells the story of a boy convinced he’s already a man, whose self-image is tested when he falls for his choir teacher just as his father makes a decision that threatens to tear the family apart; it stars Zanjoe Marudo, Zion Cruz, and Rochelle Pangilinan.
Lawrence Fajardo’s Beast follows a farmer and his loyal carabao as they set off on a road trip to Manila after a landlord forces one last harvest upon him, the pair chasing the memory of a niece lost to time, with John Arcilla in the lead role.
Mono No Aware, directed by BC Amparado, is set in a quiet apartment in Japan, where a Filipino kodokushi cleaner is asked for one final favor by a dying widower, unfolding into a meditation on grief, family, and impermanence, starring Juan Karlos Labajo and Perry Dizon. Rodina Singh’s Multwoh (Patay Na Patay Sa’yo) imagines a queer college student who dies suddenly and returns as a ghost, not for revenge but to finally say the words they never found the courage to say in life, led by Sassa Gurl and Joao Constancia.
Full length entry 'Stuck On You' director Mikko Baldoza together with the casts at PCPFF Mediacon
Co-directors Carl Papa and Ian Pangilinan bring Patay Gutom to the festival, a story in which a reclusive man’s third eye opens by accident after he eats an offering meant for a lonely ghost, binding the two together as they uncover shared family secrets; the cast includes Khalil Ramos, Ian Pangilinan, Agot Isidro, and Cris Villanueva. Mikko Baldoza directs Stuck on You, about a heartbroken manicurist who accidentally lands a hitman’s job and must choose between protecting her family and the man she loves, starring Xyriel Manabat and River Joseph.
Rounding out the lineup is Joseph Abello’s Wantawsan, in which a cash-strapped father’s windfall from a newly elected mayor spirals into a comic, values-testing adventure, starring Joross Gamboa, Rita Daniela, and Zion Cruz.
Student Shorts: A Nationwide Cross-Section
Student shorts entry 'Starfish' production team during the PCPFF Mediacon
Nineteen short films from emerging filmmakers round out the festival across four sets, touching on themes of migration, grief, faith, gender identity, and survival in settings that range from provincial fishing towns to Manila photo studios to neighborhood sari-sari stores.
Among them are Starfish, Kun Hain, Bisan Diin (Anywhere and Everywhere), Kanibal, and Sa Mga Nagdaan at Lumipas in the first set; Alumahan, When Heaven Inched Towards Earth, No Mad Is an Island, Tingi, and Ang Huling Banlaw ni Susan in the second; Pulis Dunggab, The Sound of K, Nakabinbin, and Nang Matakasan ang Tagay in the third; and Teks Battle: Shoot Pati Pato!, Kapag Tapos na ang Umpukan, 12 Shots, Bumtak Sara ti Nuangen (The Carabao's Horns Have Cracked), and Miss Intrams in the fourth.
Together, they offer a snapshot of where Filipino independent cinema’s next wave is looking. As Cahilig shared during his speech, “Habang may Pilipino na may kwentong gustong sabihin, dapat may espasyong handang makinig. Habang may filmmaker na nangangahas mangarap, dapat may mga handang maniwala.”
Catch It in Theaters
Photo during the PCPFF Mediacon
The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival runs 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 PHP regular and 200 PHP discounted, with a 2,000 PHP festival pass granting access to the full lineup.
Discounts apply to PWDs, senior citizens, students, national athletes, and Aling Puring and Perks cardholders. Festival passes go on sale at Gateway Cineplex 18 starting September 22, and at TriNoma beginning September 23.
