CinemaBravo

Extrajudicial killings (EJK), abuse, violence, and even abortion, are among the difficult realities explored by student filmmakers in this year’s Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, despite the festival’s name evoking the idea of “panalo.”

The 2026 edition is giving these often-uncomfortable subjects a place on the big screen, allowing young filmmakers to confront issues that can be painful, controversial and difficult to discuss.

This year, Puregold CinePanalo removed its previous restrictions on genre, topic and theme, giving filmmakers greater creative freedom to tell the stories they believe need to be heard—even when they tackle some of the country’s most challenging realities.

Previous editions centered on inspiring narratives under the theme “Mga Kuwentong Panalo ng Buhay.” This year, filmmakers were allowed to venture beyond that framework and explore horror, suspense, crime, fantasy and stories rooted in darker social realities.

The result is a lineup willing to enter conversations many would rather avoid.

One example is “Limlim,” a student short film directed by Samantha Beatriz Acoja Palaje.

The film follows a young girl and her mother who retreat to an old chicken farm, where they confront grief and attempt to rebuild their lives. Beneath that story are difficult issues involving abuse, unwanted pregnancy and abortion, as well as questions about society’s ability to protect women and children.

Rather than treating abortion simply as a provocative subject, “Limlim” places it within a larger story of trauma, vulnerability and survival.

Another student short, “Pulis Dunggab,” directed by Maxine Dela Bajan of iACADEMY Cebu, enters another contentious territory: violence involving state authority and the shadow of extrajudicial killings.

The film follows nine-year-old Dongkoy as a childhood game of pulis dunggab leads him into an encounter that turns innocent make-believe into something frighteningly real.

By presenting violence and authority through a child’s eyes, the film examines how realities often debated in courtrooms, congressional hearings, news reports and political discourse can penetrate the lives of children and communities.

The presence of films such as “Limlim” and “Pulis Dunggab” signals a significant expansion of what a “panalo” story can mean.

Winning does not always have to mean triumph. Sometimes it can mean surviving abuse, confronting injustice or finding the courage to talk about subjects people have been taught to keep quiet about.

And sometimes, the stories worth telling are precisely the ones that make audiences uncomfortable.

The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival runs from 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 regular and ₱200 discounted. A ₱2,000 festival pass provides access to all seven full-length films and four student short-film sets. PWDs, senior citizens, students, national athletes, and Aling Puring and Perks cardholders qualify for discounted tickets.

Festival passes will be available at Gateway Cineplex 18 beginning September 22 and at TriNoma beginning September 23.