VR Relosa and Cannes-featured actress Nour Hooshmand headline Starfish, a student short film selected for the 2026 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival.
Two rising names from different corners of Philippine cinema are coming together for Starfish, an upcoming student short film that brings VR Relosa and Nour Hooshmand to the forefront of the 2026 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival.
Relosa, known as the “Vivamax King,” and Hooshmand, who recently appeared in the Cannes and Toronto International Film Festival-featured Agapito, lead a rising ensemble in the film directed by John Clite Apolinar of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).
In Starfish, Relosa plays Boyet, a macho dancer who returns to his home province after losing his job in Manila. His homecoming forces him to confront the same social pressures, family expectations, and structures that shaped his life in the city.
For Relosa, the role offered an opportunity to approach a character through a more collaborative process. The filmmakers consulted him on how he envisioned Boyet, allowing the actor to contribute to the character's development and interpretation. “It becomes more personal because you have an input,” Relosa explains.
To prepare for the role, Relosa immersed himself in the world of macho dancers, spending time in spaces where they performed and speaking with dancers about their experiences, dreams, and aspirations. The experience gave him a deeper understanding of the realities behind the profession and helped him connect with the emotional weight of Boyet's story.
Opposite Relosa is Nour Hooshmand, who plays Pia, Boyet's younger sister. Timid and idealistic, Pia believes that her brother has found a better life after leaving their province for Manila. His return, however, challenges the image she has built around his life in the city.
Hooshmand joins Starfish following her acclaimed performance in Agapito, which premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival before screening at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Her growing filmography also includes Filipiñana, Blue Room, Cinemartyrs, and Shake, Rattle & Roll: Bawal Tumawid.
Their casting also brings together two actors with distinct trajectories in Philippine cinema. Relosa has been expanding beyond his mainstream streaming visibility into the independent film and festival circuit, recently appearing in Hoy! Hoy! Ingat!, which received the Critics Prize among the Lokal Grantees at the
2025 QCinema International Film Festival.
Meanwhile, Hooshmand continues to build a filmography that has already taken her work to major international film festivals, making her one of the emerging Filipino actresses to watch in the independent cinema space.
Rounding out the Starfish cast are theater actor and singer Floyd Tena as Boyet and Pia's strict, traditional father, Domeng; Jake Ulan as Jimboy; and Dads Valencia as the town mayor.
2026 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival
Starfish is one of 20 student short films selected for the 2026 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, an annual initiative that supports Filipino filmmakers and emerging storytellers.
With VR Relosa's mainstream recognition and growing independent film presence meeting Nour Hooshmand's international festival momentum, Starfish brings together two actors from different cinematic paths for a story that promises to explore the complicated intersections of family, identity, oppression, and survival.'
Directed by John Clite Apolinar, Starfish is set to screen at Gateway Cubao this September as part of the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2026.
For updates and announcements, follow Starfish on Facebook and @starfish.film on Instagram.
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