2/11/2025 04:13:00 AM
JENG
Award-winning documentarist Baby Ruth Villarama released the teaser for her much-
anticipated film Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea, her entry into the
2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, and what seeks to be a strong contender for
multiple awards at the country’s fastest-rising film fest.
According to Villarama, the film, which harkens to the current maritime conflict between
the Philippines and China, is ultimately a story about empathy. “We want the audience
to understand that sovereignty is not just a political issue; it’s a deeply personal one for
every Filipino,” says Villarama, “From the fishermen risking their lives to feed their
families, to the Coast Guard and Navy personnel delivering food to the soldiers on
remote outposts, Food Delivery illustrates the shared sacrifice and the collective love
we all have to protect our way of life.”
Villarama is best known for her documentary Sunday Beauty Queen which won Best
Picture at the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival. Outside of Sunday Beauty Queen,
Villarama has also been involved for over a decade in international co-productions as a
producer and documentary director for local and international news organizations. Many
of the documentaries co-produced by Villarama take a socially-conscious angle, and as
such, have been featured in international festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and
others.
Outside of her filmmaking work, Baby Ruth Villarama is also a distinguished academic,
having earned a master’s degree in film marketing and distribution from Birmingham
City University in the United Kingdom as part of the highly-competitive Chevening
Scholarship program. Because of her efforts, she also won the 2018 UK Global Alumni
Social Impact Award because of the way her films explore the concepts of migration
and modern-day slavery. Villarama also uses her spare time in serving as a board
member of the Director’s Guild of the Philippines, as a member of the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts’ cinema committee, and as a member of the
Voyage Studious and Film Producers Society that seeks to push Filipino directors to
greater heights.
With a resume such as hers, Villarama is evidently one of the odds-on favorites to bag
multiple awards at the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival. And with the release of
the teaser for Food Delivery, it’s easy to see why.
The teaser begins with the visual of a simple fishing boat innocuously bobbing along the
ocean waves. That is, until the camera sinks beneath the water, revealing an
overwhelming amount of fish, and signaling to the overwhelming burden placed on the
fishermen assigned to catch them. The teaser then moves to a more ominous visual -
two boats, a fishing boat and a coast guard ship, carrying the Philippine flag - before
ending with the titular statement: “fresh from the West Philippine Sea.”
In speaking on such a delicate subject matter, Baby Ruth Villarama has described Food
Delivery as a film about unity, sacrifice, and the Filipino spirit. According to Villarama,
what she hopes 2025 Puregold CinePanalo audiences find in her film is a sense of
empathy and connection to the people who are often unseen in protecting our food, and
by extension, our sovereignty.
With such an important film on its hands, the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo has already
delivered on its promise to build on what was an impressive debut for the festival just
last year. Outside of Food Delivery, this year’s CinePanalo has an impressive lineup of
directors fighting for the top prizes in what has quickly become one of the country’s
most prestigious film festivals. Joining Food Delivery in the full-length category are JP
Habac’s Olsen’s Day, Christian Paolo Lat’s Journeyman, Mes de Guzman’s Sepak
Takraw, Jill Singson Urdaneta’s Co-Love, Catsi Catalan’s Fleeting, TM Malones’ Salum,
and Tara Illenberger’s Tigkiliwi. In addition, twenty-five student directors will be
competing in the Puregold CinePanalo’s annual student shorts category.
The 2025 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival will run from March 14-25 at the Gateway
Cineplex 18 in Cubao, Quezon City.
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