DGPI laments pullout of West Philippine Sea docu from local film fest

Baby Ruth Villarama’s documentary “Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea” official poster | Contributed photo

The Directors’ Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI) has expressed its disappointment over the decision to pull Baby Ruth Villarama’s “Food Delivery” out from the CinePanalo Film Festival two days before its scheduled premiere.

The documentary’s removal from the festival lineup raised concern among filmmakers and nationalists, who see it as part of a disturbing pattern of censorship in the country, given that the narrative exposes the struggles faced by Filipino fishermen at the hands of the Chinese Coast Guard within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“This decision signals a troubling trend in the suppression of artistic expression and the silencing of truth in our country,” the DGPI said in a statement. “Rather than celebrating the courage of our filmmakers in exposing these critical realities, the festival has instead chosen to suppress the truth — seemingly to avoid disfavor from powerful foreign interests.”

The DGPI noted the troubling pattern where other documentaries such as “Alipato at Muog” and “Lost Sabungeros” were either given X-ratings or pulled out from cinemas, amplifying the suppression of freedom of expression in the Philippines.

“This is not just an attack on one film but an alarming indication of how freedom of expression is being eroded in our society,” the statement continued. “These actions reveal a growing pattern of intimidation that seeks to prevent Filipinos from engaging with narratives that expose injustice and challenge prevailing power structures.”

The local organization then called on the community to stand firm in their commitment to storytelling, emphasizing that nothing can dictate which “stories deserve to be told and not.”

“The power of cinema lies in its ability to shed light on realities that some would rather keep hidden. Tyranny fears storytelling because storytelling unearths the inconvenient truths that empower people,” it stated.

“The DGPI stands in solidarity with Baby Ruth Villarama and all filmmakers who dare to confront uncomfortable truths. We urge film institutions, festivals, and the greater public to protect our democratic rights and uphold the principles of free expression. Let us not allow fear and censorship to dictate which stories can and cannot be told,” the statement concluded.

On March 12, CinePanalo director Chris Cahilig and Villarama announced the documentary’s exit through a joint statement, citing “external factors” as the reason.

In an interview during the festival’s awards night on Wednesday, March 19,  Cahilig shared that he was working closely with Villarama to have the documentary shown in other festivals outside the country.

“Syempre very unfortunate ‘yung mga nangyari, pero on the other side, meron rin opportunity that opened for the film. That gives them the opportunity to get accepted in the best platforms for the world premiere [outside the Philippines],” he told reporters.

The 2025 CinePanalo Film Festival runs from March 14 to 25 at the Gateway Cineplex 18 in Cubao, Quezon City.