Bigger cash grants for 2nd edition of CinePanalo

Scene from “Under a Piaya Moon,” last year’s best picture at the CinePanalo Film Festival —CONTRIBUTED photo

Seven full-length filmmakers will each receive a P3-million cash grant, while 25 student directors will get P150,000 for their short film productions, organizers of the 2nd CinePanalo Film Festival announced recently.

“Due to the overwhelming success of our inaugural run, we are happy to increase our production grants and number of participants for this year’s festival,” filmmaker and festival director Chris Cahilig told Inquirer Entertainment on Monday. “We’re doing this to give our local artists greater opportunities when it comes to realizing their visions.”

“It is our hope that these larger grants give our filmmakers more freedom to fully practice their creativity and craft,” said Cahilig. Last year’s edition featured six professional/amateur directors, who received P250,000 each.

“We have high hopes for the quality of the forthcoming festival since the increased grants are going to afford artists more opportunities,” said Cahilig when asked to share his expectations for the festival’s second edition. “Also, we’re excited to showcase these voices and uplift their place in Philippine cinema.”

Deadline for the applications for full-length features is on July 15, while student directors in the short film category must submit their applications before Aug. 15.

“After a highly successful and celebrated inaugural run in March, we aim to continue this for the benefit of Filipino students and filmmakers. This year, we challenge more aspiring filmmakers to push boundaries, tackle new subject matters and make use of different experimental approaches while promoting Filipino heritage and values,” said festival organizer Vincent Co, who is also president of one of the country’s leading grocery chains.

Unlike the previous festival run, CinePanalo now requires applicants to submit complete screenplays for their entries. “This allows the selection committee to identify the most compelling and well-realized stories suited to the festival’s theme,” explained Cahilig.

Applications can be completed at the following: https://forms.gle/wNUUQ62okYcyW5r37. All entries must be uplifting stories centered on the theme of “Mga Kwentong Panalo ng Buhay.”

“We seek fresh perspectives in storytelling. CinePanalo aims to be a platform for local artists to take risks and be bold in their craft. Our goal is to bring more outstanding Filipino films to the national—and even global—stage,” said the festival’s codirector, Ivy Hayagan-Piedad, on the importance of the theme.

The student shorts should have a maximum runtime of 20 minutes, while the full-length films a minimum length of 90 minutes. All winning entries will be screened during the festival proper from March 14 to 25, 2025, at the Gateway Cinemas. The CinePanalo Awards Night will be held on March 19, 2025.

The inaugural CinePanalo film festival featured full-length films from directors such as Kurt Soberano, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo and Joel Ferrer. Student shorts were produced by young filmmakers from University of the Philippines Diliman, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, among others. INQ