The new advocacy-driven film festival with the highest grant in the Philippines has arrived, but the prize amounting to millions is not the only benefit to chosen filmmakers.
Supermarket chain Puregold officially launched on August 8 at the Cinema 76 Film Society the first CinePanalo Film Festival, which is on the hunt for film concepts themed “Mga Kwentong Panalo ng Buhay.” It has a grant of P2,500,000 for five professional-made, full-length films and P100,000 for 25 students’ short films.
RELATED: Film grants up for grabs in 1st CinePanalo Filmfest
During the press conference, filmmaker and film festival director Chris Cahilig said Cinepanalo is distinct from other festivals in the Philippines because of the kind of stories it is looking for based on the theme.
“This is a very different film festival because we are family-oriented, inspiring and uplifting, and we are focusing on uplifting things,” Cahilig said.
Rewards for select films
According to Cahilig, the grant will be released to the chosen filmmakers in tranches to assist them in funding each aspect of their production process.
For full-length films, half a million pesos will be given for the pre-production process, P1 million during the production, P500,000 for the post-production and another half a million for the final film turnover. Meanwhile, half of the full grant will be given to short film makers for pre-production, the other half for post-production.
Cahilig also assured interested filmmakers that claiming the grant will not be difficult.
“It’s actually going to be very available as long as they comply with the requirements. Of course, we want to make sure that we get to monitor the film’s progress,” he said.
More over, five chosen full-length films will have free color grading from post-production house Optima Digital Inc., further cutting their expenses.
The selected films will also be screened on March 8 to 10, 2024 at Gateway Cinemas, while short films will also be shared online through Puregold’s social media pages.
Application process
To apply, interested filmmakers must submit a synopsis, sequence treatment, director’s profile and sample works until Oct. 27, 2023.
A final screening will take place from November to December, wherein applicants are required to submit their full script, proposed cast crew, line item budget and production timeline.
By March 1, 2024, the full films need to be turned over along with the poster designs, logline, stills and music clearance for the theatrical release.
Cahilig said that already finished films are not eligible for application. He said film concepts that fall under the genres of horror, thriller, suspense, action, fantasy and sex will not be accepted.
“We want to be very different by discussing topics that actually [are] within the brand also of Puregold that is very family-oriented,” the director explained.
Puregold has released multiple web series including the first TikTok series, “52 Weeks,” which has won an award in international social media awards, Hashtag Asia Awards.
RELATED: Filipino-made TikTok series ’52 Weeks’ bags gold prize in Hashtag Asia Awards
