FOOD DELIVERY: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea, a documentary about the struggle of Filipino fishermen and the navy in getting food to and from the distant isles in the highly contested West Philippine Sea (WPS), has been dropped at the last minute by the CinePanalo Film Festival due to “external factors.”

On Wednesday, festival director Chris Cahilig released a joint statement co-signed by the documentary’s director Baby Ruth Villarama, about her film being pulled from the lineup.

“We regret to confirm that Food Delivery, Fresh from the West Philippine Sea, has been pulled out from the CinePanalo Festival,” the statement read. “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.”What the “external factors” were was not explained.

The film was supposed to have had its world premiere on March 14, 4 p.m., at Gateway Mall in Quezon City, for the second iteration of CinePanalo.

“We appreciate the continued support from those who believe in the film’s importance and will announce alternative screenings soon,” the statement concluded.

Ms. Villarama, who was hard at work on post-production of the film just a few days prior, commented on a Facebook post mistakenly claiming that the documentary was “withdrawn” from the film fest.

“We did not withdraw. We were pulled out!” she clarified under the post, shortly after the news broke.

Neither Mr. Cahilig nor Ms. Villarama have divulged further details on the situation.

The CinePanalo Film Festival is organized by the supermarket chain Puregold, owned by Lucio Co.

The film’s last-minute cancellation echoes a similar case from August last year, when the controversial film Lost Sabungeros by Bryan Brazil was dropped by the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival “due to safety reasons.” It was picked up by the QCinema International Film Festival three months later.

Food Delivery, produced by Voyage Studios, is upfront about telling overlooked stories of the Philippines’ fight for national sovereignty opposite China which has been pushing its claims over the South China Sea waterway.

The goal of the film is “to offer a deeper perspective of this hot topic largely seen on the news,” Ms. Villarama told BusinessWorld days before it was pulled out from CinePanalo. (See the story here: https://tinyurl.com/28v4dsgo) Their pitch was approved by the festival late last year, with filming commencing in October and concluding in January.

The 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival will run from March 14 to 25 at Quezon City’s Gateway Mall in Cubao. — Brontë H. Lacsamana