West Philippine Sea documentary withdraws from 2025 CinePanalo Film Festival as 'external factors played'
A documentary about the West Philippine Sea was withdrawn from the CinePanalo Film Festival just two days before the event.
"We regret to confirm that Food Delivery, Fresh from the West Philippine Sea has been pulled out from the CinePanalo Festival," its creator Baby Ruth Villarama and CinePanalo festival director Chris Cahilig said in a joint statement on March 12.
They explained that 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," they said, adding that alternative screenings will be announced soon.
In a separate Facebook post, Villarama apologized to viewers who have since expressed interest in the documentary.
"I am truly sorry that this is happening just before our gala screening," she said. "But this film—our tribute to the struggles of Filipino fishermen and soldiers in the West Philippine Sea—will find its audience. Their stories deserve to reach you."
'Not what we or CinePanalo wanted'
In an interview with PhilSTAR L!fe, Villarama said that while she may have speculations as to why organizers pulled out the documentary, she doesn't have hard facts.
"As a documentary filmmaker, my integrity tells me to only operate on facts," she said. "All I know is that this is not what we or CinePanalo wanted."
She noted that documentary filmmaking taps into something more human, which is the desire to understand each other.
"I just want to be someone to connect with humanity in our attempt to connect with our own," she said. "Not a lot of people have the privilege in life to do that; but we do, and we want to make it count."
Villarama said the issue wasn't just about her film being pulled out of the festival, but the deeper battle of curtailing people's critical thinking through the film and other progressive efforts.
"I have a feeling I’m just another latest tragedy, and it will not stop at me alone. The bullying continues if we don’t collectively stand up against it," she said.
Villarama noted that acts of censorship are also about suppressing human understanding.
"Food Delivery, Fresh from the West Philippine Sea is meant to bring voices from the frontlines to the table. Instead, it was pulled out at the last minute due to 'external factors beyond control.' But whose control are we really talking about?" she said. "When a film about Filipino fishermen and their daily struggles is deemed too risky to screen, we have to ask: What narratives are being protected, and at what cost to our own truths?"
In the meantime, Villarama said her team is "working hard right now to plot the next course of action" regarding the release of Food Delivery.
According to its logline, Food Delivery "captures the valiant efforts of the Filipino fishermen, Coast Guard and Navy to deliver desperately needed food to communities, all while defending their livelihoods and national sovereignty in the contested West Philippine Sea." It's the only documentary in this year's lineup.
"Each catch and mission becomes a powerful testament to resilience, unity, and pride," it also read.
With the withdrawal of Food Delivery, the 2025 CinePanalo Film Festival's lineup consists of Olsen's Day, Journeyman, Sepak Takraw, Co-Love, Fleeting, Salum, and Tigkiliwi.
In its teaser video uploaded in February, the documentary gave a glimpse of the different schools of fish underwater, as well as a Filipino fisherman waving the Philippine flag.
There was also a wide shot of a small boat adjacent to a significantly bigger one.
The West Philippine Sea has an island called the Scarborough Shoal, a fish-rich reef 240 kilometers west of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.
China claims almost the entire sea, brushing off rival claims by the Philippines and other countries and ignoring the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling that its "nine-dash line" claim has no legal basis.
To press its claims, Beijing deploys coast guard and other boats to patrol the waterway. It also turned several reefs into militarized artificial islands.
CinePanalo entries were produced by Puregold, a supermarket brand that's part of the Puregold Price Club owned by the Chinese-Filipino Co business family. It's one of the country's richest families, with the company leaders Lucio and Susan Co having a net worth of $2.3 billion in 2024, according to Forbes Magazine.
The CinePanalo festival will run from March 14 to 25 at the Gateway Cineplex 18 in Cubao in Quezon City. Regular tickets cost P250. Students, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens, as well as the store's Tindahan ni Aling Puring and Perks Card members may get discounted tickets for P200. A Puregold CinePanalo Festival Pass, meanwhile, allows access to all entries for P2,000.
PhilSTAR L!fe reached out to Puregold for additional comment but they have yet to reply.
