Carl Papa, Ian Pangilinan, and the courage to get weird

(Seven Filipino filmmakers, each receiving a record ₱5 million grant from Puregold CinePanalo 2026, recently sat down with the radar Entertainment team for an exclusive interview.)

In “Patay Gutom” (Dead Hungry), rotoscope animation meets queer love story, as veteran storyteller Carl Joseph Papa and first-time co-director Ian Pangilinan craft a surreal tale about hunger, vision, and the strange, tender ways we find acceptance.

When Carl Joseph Papa talks about “Patay Gutom,” he sounds both amused and grateful. “It’s always a welcome surprise and challenge to be given the chance to tell a story again,” he says. “That’s the end goal for us as storytellers, to have an avenue to share our stories with people.” 

The film, one of the seven Puregold CinePanalo 2026 finalists, marks a new chapter in his career: a hybrid, queer love story made in collaboration with actor-turned-director Ian Pangilinan.

The film’s premise is as absurd as it is poetic. A food delivery driver accidentally opens his third eye and finds himself delivering to the dead. From there, “Patay Gutom” becomes a darkly funny and emotionally disarming exploration of loneliness, desire, and acceptance. “Hopefully,” Papa says with a small smile, “it’s about acceptance. Love is acceptance.” His words sound simple, but in the surreal worlds he builds, simplicity often hides the most painful truths.

For Ian Pangilinan, who makes his directorial debut with this project, “Patay Gutom” represents both a creative risk and a dream realized. “CinePanalo supports a wide range of films,” he says. “They don’t always have to be happy,  they can tackle really heavy issues, too. That’s why we thought of CinePanalo first for this unconventional project.” 

His partnership with Papa came naturally. “We developed a good rapport after meeting,” he recalls. “When you agree on the kind of films you want to make, and the kind of messages you want to put out there, you really want to manifest that into reality.”

As a writer, actor, and now director, Pangilinan is learning to balance excitement with precision. “Writing is the hardest,” he admits. “Because when you’re dealing with heavy themes, you have to handle them with care… with a lens of love. You need to be precise about how you say things.” That sincerity runs through everything he does, whether performing or creating. “I’ve always loved stories about family, or found families… misfits who build unlikely communities among themselves. Those are the kinds of movies I’ve always wanted to make.”

Together, Papa and Pangilinan blur the lines between mediums and sensibilities: one rooted in craft, the other driven by raw enthusiasm. Sometimes, the wildest stories—about ghosts, hunger, or heartbreak—are the ones that feel most human. And in a landscape often starved for originality, “Patay Gutom” dares to say: it’s okay to get weird, as long as you do it with love.

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