A philosophy junior is among the 25 finalists of the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2025, according to a list posted by the supermarket company on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Angel Allizon Cruz, vice president for productions of the Thomasian Film Society (TFS), bested more than 200 participants under the Student Short Films category with the entry entitled “Habang-buhay/Habang Buhay” aligned with this year’s theme, “Mga Kwentong Panalo ng Buhay.”

As a finalist, the film will receive P150,000 worth of production fund grant and will be showcased during the film festival on March 14-25, 2025. The film will also be eligible for recognition during the awards ceremony on March 19, 2025.

“Habang-buhay/Habang Buhay” is inspired by the experiences of Anthea de Sales, the film’s writer, during the aftermath of Bagyong Ondoy in 2009 that talks about “as long as you live – there is hope,” and “forever is just a word.”

“You cannot get to say na forever ka na sa place na ‘yan, na halimbawa ay failed ka ngayon, ay hindi forever ka [mabibigo] or forever ka na sa place na yan ng failing,” Cruz said.

Through the production of the short film, TFS aims to show how life was without the “enhanced social media” back then, thinking of things as “sentimental.”

“Ngayon kasi simpleng bagay nakikita mo na lahat sa social media. Pero noon, it was not easy [dahil] malayo ka sa ibang tao at hindi pa gaanong enhanced ang social media. You really think things as sentimental kasi parang mahirap siyang i-keep nang agaran,” Cruz shared.

The organization joined the contest to expand its reach and experience as filmmakers and film enthusiasts.

Statement through art

In an exclusive interview with Cruz, she claimed that current films in the industry, specifically indie films, tackle issues that bring back Filipinos’ interest in cinema.

“Films do such a big role in advocating something, amplifying the stories of people behind those films they produce,” the student-filmmaker told TomasinoWeb.

During a film education convention, she recalled that “you create art for a statement” and kept it to heart that film is both aesthetic by sight and evokes a thoughtful mind.

“If you create art with a statement, you are producing an aesthetically pleasing [effect] on the eyes [and other senses], with a statement with it, you get to influence those people, your audiences, with the statement that you want to amplify,” Cruz shared.

She advised fellow student directors that there is nothing wrong with looking up to people in the same industry, but it does not mean you should reach them since you should validate yourself.

“Ang perfect validation ay makukuha mo ay galing sayo, ang iyong thumbs up, hindi ang thumbs up ng iba kasi ang ikaw ang nagtatrabaho non. You become the first you,” she told TomasinoWeb.

Each student-made film should have a maximum runtime of 20 minutes.

The first iteration of the film festival saw Thomasian communications student Dizelle Masilungan bagged third place in the student short category.