Mikko Baldoza Rising Filmmaker Enters CinePanalo

(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 “Stuck on You,” first-time filmmaker Mikko Baldoza turns a simple romantic comedy into something stranger… a sharp, offbeat love story about a manicurist, a murder plot, and the impossible ways we fall for each other.

For Mikko Baldoza, joining Puregold CinePanalo 2026 feels like stepping onto a much larger stage. “When you hear the word CinePanalo, it’s an honor to be on the shortlist,” he says. The young director from Manila still sounds a little surprised to be mentioned alongside such well-known names. “It’s a bit heavy,” he laughs. “They’re my idols. I’m just new. But whatever happens, I’m happy I made it this far.”

His film “Stuck on You” is a romantic comedy with a dark twist… the story of a hopeless romantic manicurist who finds herself in a dangerous bind: she may have to kill the man of her dreams. It’s absurd, funny, and strangely tender, like a pop song that doesn’t realize it’s breaking your heart. “The material just fits CinePanalo,” Baldoza says. “It’s offbeat, a bit absurd, but it’s fun. The character is fun.”

Baldoza’s entry stands out for its mix of playfulness and danger and the way it treats comedy as a kind of courage. Beneath the humor, there’s a quiet defiance… a belief that love stories don’t have to be clean or perfect to be true. His approach echoes the films he grew up watching: stories about people on the edge of something ridiculous but deeply human.

Still, for Baldoza, the achievement isn’t just about being one of the seven. It’s about what this space makes possible for emerging voices like his. “It’s hard to make films here,” he says simply. “It’s hard to find a producer. So when festivals like CinePanalo give grants, it gives us a chance.” His words land with a kind of understated hope—not just for himself, but for a generation of filmmakers who dream in both laughter and risk.

With “Stuck on You,” Baldoza joins that growing movement: storytellers unafraid to blur tones, to find meaning in the absurd, and to show that sometimes, falling in love—or making your first film—means diving headfirst into something dangerous, ridiculous, and completely worth it.