Besides the holiday break, it is also during the month of December that one of the biggest film festivals in the Philippines is held. This is the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) which is organized annually by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Such an occasion normally means Filipino films will be all the jam-packed cinemas are showing. However, with the pandemic, last year’s 46th MMFF was held online with the films being made available for streaming. This December 2021, we saw a return of the selected films to the big screen as well as the Parade of Stars being done offline with the films’ respective casts riding ferry boats down the Pasig River.

[Source: MMFF 2021 Fluvial Parade of Stars: big stars, di sumama sa parada]

8 films were featured in the last festival. These are Law Fajardo’s A Hard Day, Jun Robles Lana’s Big Night!, Cathy Garcia-Molina’s Love at First Stream, Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Kun Maupay Man It Panahon, Lester Dimaranan’s Nelia, Adolf Alix Jr.’s Huwag Kang Lalabas, Fifth Solomon’s The Exorsis, and Louie Ignacio’s Huling Ulan Sa Tag-Araw. These films were screened in cinemas from the 25th of December to the 8th of January.

Meanwhile, the 47th MMFF’s Gabi ng Parangal was held on the 27th of December at SM Aura Premier’s Samsung Hall and was streamed online on the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Official Facebook Page. Jun Robles Lana’s Big Night won big. The 8 awards they received include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score, the Gender Sensitivity Award, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Christian Bables), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (John Arcilla).

The Second Best Picture is Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Kun Maupay Man It Panahon. This film ended up winning 6 other awards including Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, the Gatpuno Antonio J Villegas Cultural Award, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Charo Santos), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Rans Rifol), and the MMFF Jury Prize Award (Daniel Padilla).

Law Fajardo’s A Hard Day is the Third Best Picture which won the awards for Best Editing and Best Sound. The award for Best Float went to Adolf Alix Jr.’s Huwag Kang Lalabas.

Given the latest MMFF, an interesting discussion regarding the status of Philippine cinema is gaining momentum. Did you manage to catch any of the films included in the film festivals lineup, mga ka-tambay? How were they? Do you think these selections are reflective of what Philippine cinema has to offer as well as what the Filipino audience wants?