A two-hour documentary about the Claretian priest killed in Basilan in 2000, first shown in May for parishes and schools, is now among the eight films of the 52nd Metro Manila Film Festival.
Seeds of Peace: The Life of Fr. Rhoel D. Gallardo, CMF premiered on May 3, 2026, at a Quezon City cinema, on the 26th anniversary of Gallardo’s death. Its makers planned it for community screenings in parishes, schools and institutions, where it could start conversations about faith and reconciliation.
Five months later, it is one of the eight films competing at the Metro Manila Film Festival. The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which runs the festival, named it on October 12 in the second batch of four entries, alongside Los Salvajes Bravos, Little Hope and A Perfect Marriage.
Who Fr. Rhoel Gallardo Was
Gallardo, born in Olongapo, Zambales, in 1965, was a Claretian missionary, a member of the Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded by St. Anthony Mary Claret. In Basilan he served as parish priest of San Vicente Ferrer and as director of the Claret School of Tumahubong. On March 20, 2000, the Abu Sayyaf, an armed Islamist group then active in Basilan, abducted him along with teachers and students from the school. He was killed on May 3, 2000. According to the Claretians, he refused his captors’ demand that he renounce his faith.
The Claretian province in the Philippines was renamed in his honor in November 2021. His cause for sainthood is under way, and the Church now refers to him as a Servant of God.
The Film
Seeds of Peace runs about two hours. It is built on testimony from survivors of the kidnapping, Gallardo’s family, peace advocates, military personnel and former Abu Sayyaf members, with Zaijian Jaranilla playing Gallardo in dramatized scenes. The Gallardo family and the Claretian Missionaries of Fr. Rhoel Gallardo Province produced it, and Rommel Galapia Ruiz directs.
Jaranilla prepared by talking to the people who had been held with Gallardo. “I spoke with the survivors to understand his courage,” he said at the May premiere.
The Second Gallardo Film in Two Years
Ruiz has told this story before. He co-directed In Thy Name, Viva Films’ March 2025 drama starring McCoy de Leon as Gallardo and JC de Vera as Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. That film leads this year’s FAMAS nominations with 12, tied with Quezon. Seeds of Peace returns to the subject through the people who lived through the kidnapping.
It is also Jaranilla’s second straight MMFF. In 2025 he was part of I’mPerfect, the festival’s Best Picture winner, and earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for it.
What We Don’t Know Yet
Neither the producers nor the festival has said whether the MMFF release will be the same cut that played in May or a version reworked for commercial theaters. There is no festival trailer yet.
Where and When
Seeds of Peace opens December 25, 2026, as part of the 52nd Metro Manila Film Festival, with cinema tickets capped at ₱299 for the festival’s two-week run.
Part of ElysPlanet’s ongoing MMFF 2026 coverage, updated as each entry’s deep dive goes live.