6 hours ago
1
Charmie Joy Pagulong - The Philippine Star
March 16, 2025 | 12:00am
The Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2025 entry “Food Delivery, Fresh from the West Philippine Sea” has been withdrawn from the competition, citing “external factors.”
In a joint statement, festival director Chris Cahilig and the documentary director Baby Ruth Villarama announced that the entry “has been pulled out” from event.
“While the decision was made jointly by the festival organizers and film creators, it is clear that external factors played a role in this outcome. We appreciate the continued support from those who believe in the film’s importance and will announce alternative screenings soon,” the statement said.
The entry was supposed to be the first-ever documentary to join the CinePanalo line up under the festival’s theme, “Mga Kwentong Panalo ng Buhay.” The other participating full-length and short films are now screening at the Gateway Cineplex 18 until March 25.
According to the synopsis, “Food Delivery, Fresh from the West Philippine Sea” tells the efforts of the Filipino fishermen, Coast Guard and Navy in delivering food to the community and at the same time, defending their livelihoods and national sovereignty in the contested waters of the West Philippine Sea.
Direk Baby Ruth (“Sunday Beauty Queen”) shared on Facebook that they have “agreed to comply for now” with the festival’s directive “to avoid disruptions and protect the other films.”
During the pre-production stage, the filmmaker shared in an interview the inspiration behind the documentary.
“As a storyteller, iisipin mo papano ba ko makakatindig para sa bayan,” she stated. “What can we contribute para hikayatin and add inspiration for the Filipino people, to be constructive and paano mabigyan saysay sa ating pagku-kwento?”
“It takes days, sometimes weeks, months, before their food supplies get into them. So the story is really about them waiting…How do they maintain to be fathers to their children, how do they maintain to be human beings despite the big responsibility on their shoulders?”
“(We hope that) people will get to appreciate the efforts of our soldiers,” she told The STAR. “And hopefully we could also be part of the narrative, magmasid, makialam and own the West Philippines sea because it’s ours.”
