Food Delivery (film)

Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea is an upcoming Philippine documentary film. Directed by Baby Ruth Villarama under Voyage Studios, the film covers the plight of Filipino fishermen, navy and coast guard personnel in the contested South China Sea despite's China's obstruction of their activities.
Food Delivery was directed by Baby Ruth Villarama under Voyage Studios. Chuck Gutierrez was the director. As a former CinePanalo Film Festival entry, its production was funded by Puregold a supermarket chain brand owned by the Chinese-Filipino Co family.
Gutierrez asked Villarama to make a pitch for a film for a CinePanalo entry. Puregold's sponsorship gave Villarama an idea to center her film concept on "food" leading her to research on the plight of Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea which is subject to a territorial dispute claimed in whole by China. Villarama also tackled the difficulties of the Armed Forces of the Philippines efforts to deliver supplies to Filipino soldiers stationed in the contested islands.
The film had West Philippine Sea in its name which refers to the eastern portion of the South China Sea which the Philippines' claims sovereignty over. Villarama is motivated by supporting the Philippines' claim in the area and countering China's own sovereignty claims and tactics to dissuade Filipino fishers from the sea. Villarama insists despite the political nature of the film, Food Delivery is about "empathy" meant to connect its audience to the plight of its subjects.
Principal photography took placed from October to December 2024 with the production crew joining Filipino fisherfolk do their work in the South China Sea. The filming was non-continuous consisting of several trips ranging from five days to two weeks. They also filmed with Filipino troops stationed near the sea in January 2025.
The film covers both the plight of the Filipino fisherfolks and the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy resupply efforts despite China's opposition to their presence.
One of the resource person for the documentary was Subic-based fisherman Arnel Satam, who operates a small motorized wooden boat. He reccounts being driven away by the China Coast Guard from his usual fishing waters in 2023 as well as the simbada fishing tradition within his community.
Food Delivery was announced as one of the eight official entries of the 2nd CinePanalo Film Festival by Puregold on September 2024. It would have been the first documentary to feature in the film festival to run from March 14 to 25, 2025 at the Gateway Mall in Quezon City. The film's CinePanalo release were to have English subtitles for the foreign jurors invited and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board has given the film a PG rating.
However on March 12, 2025, Food Delivery director Villarama and Festival director Chris Cahilig issued a joint statement about the film being withdrawn from the event. The document claims it is a join decision from the organizers and film creators but admitted to unnamed "external factors" influencing the move.
Villarama in a reported admitted the withdrawal felt like censorship caused by "political and economic pressures". She later disclosed that the film was withdrawn at the request of Puregold's board of directors.
The Directors’ Guild of the Philippines expressed disappointment over the censorship by the film festival's organizers to "seemingly to avoid disfavor from powerful foreign interests"
Puregold has 60 percent stake on the release of Food Delivery causing uncertainty if the film will be released at all. However the March 12 joint statement promised alternate screenings at a yet to be announced date. The film creators are working for the film to be released in an international film festival outside the Philippines.