The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority and held nationwide in the Philippines. The festival, which runs from Christmas Day through New Year's Day and into the first weekend of January in the following year, focuses on Filipino produced films. During the course of the festival, movie theaters show only films that are approved by its jurors and exclude foreign films except in 3D theaters and IMAX theaters. It is one of the two major Filipino film festivals that exclude foreign films in a week-long period, the other being the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino happening during August.
The annual event began with the 1975 Metro Manila Film Festival, during which Diligin Mo ng Hamog ang Uhaw na Lupa ("Water the Thirsty Earth with Dew") directed by Augusto Buenaventura won the best film award."Metro Manila Film Festival:1975". IMDB. Retrieved April 9, 2014. For the 28th edition in 2002, the festival was expanded to be nationwide in scope instead of simply being held in Metro Manila.
One of the festival highlights is the parade of floats at the opening of the festival. The floats, each one representing a movie entry with their respective stars, parade down usually Roxas Boulevard, as was the case in many of the previous awards. Initially the float parade was held on December 24 until 2011. But Starting in 2012, it is now held earlier before usual Christmas Eve. Beginning in 2017, however, the float parade is now usually hosted by each of the 17 local governments of the capital region. On the awards night, a Best Float award is also announced along with the major acting awards.
A sister festival which is a spin-off of the MMFF, the Summer Metro Manila Film Festival, was supposed to have its first edition in April 2020. but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; its inaugural edition was instead launched in April 2023. A second spin-off festival, the Manila International Film Festival, was launched in 2024 as an extension of the MMFF, taking place in Los Angeles, California.
History
A precursor of the current festival began in 1966. Then-mayor of Manila Antonio Villegas inaugurated the "Manila Film Festival" ("Manila Tagalog Film Festival"). It was set up in order to get Philippine films screened in "first-run" theaters which at that time only screened American films. It was a 12-day event from June 14 through June 24, Manila's birthday, during which only locally produced films could be shown in theaters. The festival featured a parade in downtown Manila of actors and the featured films. Most of the first batch of the festival films came up with English titles. Despite the lack of support, there were different changes in making the festival flourish.Hawkins, Michael Gary (2008). Co-producing the Postcolonial: U.S.-Philippine Cinematic Relations, 1946--1986.
The best films of Manila Film Festival included Daigdig ng mga Api (1966), Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak (1967), Manila, Open City (1968), Patria Adorada (1969), Dimasalang (1970), Cadena de Amor (1971), Elias, Basilio at Sisa (1972), Nueva Vizcaya (1973) and Alaala mo Daigdig Ko (1974).
In 1973, the Manila Film Festival was discontinued as Martial Law was imposed in September the year before. On September 21, 1975, during the Marcos Presidency, the filmfest was expanded to include all the other cities and towns in the newly formed Metro Manila and began under the name "1975 Metropolitan Film Festival" (MFF). In 1977, name was changed to "Metro Manila Film Festival".
After Villegas' death in 1984, a special award in the Metro Manila Film Festival, the Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award, was created in his honor and is given to the best film that best portrays Philippine culture and Filipino people to the world. MRN Film International's Andrea, Paano Ba ang Maging Isang Ina? was the first one to receive the lifetime achievement award in 1990. Since then, it has been awarding prestigious films that deserves the honors.
In 2010, the film festival underwent some changes. First, the commercial viability criterion (box-office performance of the entries) was removed. As of 2010, the criteria for the selection of Best Picture(s) are: artistry; creativity and technical excellence; innovation; and thematic value. Entries are also judged for global appeal (70 percent) and Filipino cultural and/or historical value (30 percent). In addition, the festival format gave a tribute to independent "indie" films. Lastly, the established board of jurors was expanded to include housewives, drivers, students, teachers, etc. The festival logo was changed to feature a map of the Metropolis of Manila, based on the old seal of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority with seventeen stars on it symbolizing the 17 cities and municipality of Metro Manila. The logo for the first 35 festivals featured a torch."Changes in 2010 MMFF introduced". Yahoo. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
In September 2011, Atty. Francis Tolentino, then-chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) changed the category name of "indie" films to "New Wave" films to make it sound better and more attractive to hear, as well as including "Student Short Film Category" for the first time."'Indie' out, 'New Wave' in" . Tempo. Retrieved 2014-04-09. Consequently, the next year, the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival held in 2012 became the highest earning MMFF to date with 767 million pesos, 21% higher than that of 2011.
In January 2013 Interaksyon.com review, writer Jessica Zafra complained, "Speaking of standards, why do we bother to review the festival entries when most of them are rubbish? Because they're not supposed to be rubbish! Contrary to what you've been led to believe, 'entertainment' and 'commercial appeal' are not synonyms for 'garbage'. There are good commercial movies, and there are bad commercial movies. The bad outnumber the good because the studios think the viewers are idiots."
Notable incidents There have been numerous notable incidents during the various festivals."Through the years: Controversies in the MMFF". Business World Online. Retrieved 2014-04-09."A look at the past MMFF controversies". ABS-CBN. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
In 1977, director Lino Brocka walked out of the awarding ceremonies at the Metropolitan Theater when Celso Ad. Castillo's Burlesk Queen starring Vilma Santos won eight of the ten awards including the Best Picture award during the 3rd Metro Manila Film Festival. Brocka reportedly threw invectives at Rolando Tinio, who was the chairman of the panel of judges of the festival.
In 1978, the board of jurors decided to not award honors for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress on the 4th Metro Manila Film Festival. Instead, the jurors gave Nora Aunor a "Best Performer" award for her role in the movie Atsay. Aunor beat Vilma Santos, whom fortune-tellers on the then-popular talk show of Inday Badiday and many moviegoers predicted would win the award for her role in the movie Rubia Servios. When Nora accepted her award, she cried "Mama, mali ang hula nila" ("Mama, their prediction is wrong") in an apparent reference to the fortune-tellers.
In 1983, during the awards night of the 9th Metro Manila Film Festival, many were surprised after Coney Reyes won the Best Actress award for the movie Bago Kumalat ang Dugo and Anthony Alonzo won the Best Actor award for the same movie, besting acting greats Charito Solis, Phillip Salvador, and Vic Silayan, who were all in the movie Karnal. In addition, the jury's standards of giving Willie Milan the Best Director award against Lino Brocka was questioned.
In 1986, for the first time, the 12th Metro Manila Film Festival did not give out the traditional first and second Best Picture awards as well as the other two categories: Best Story and Best Screenplay. One of the jurors, Tingting Cojuangco stated: "No one of the seven entries deserved these awards..." She added that they: "...would like to express [their] concern over the current state of the Philippine movie industry as reflected in the entries to the year's MMFF...[The entries] failed to reinforce and inculcate positive Filipino values by portraying negative stereotypes, imitating foreign films and perpetuating commercially-oriented movies...".Cojuangco, Tingting. Metro Manila Film Festival Award Ceremonies. ULTRA, Pasig. December 27, 1986.
In 1988 during the award-giving ceremony of the 14th Metro Manila Film Festival, stuntman and character actor-turned-filmmaker Baldo Marro won the Best Actor for the film Patrolman, which also won him the Best Director award. In fact, he was not known before this. He bested prizewinning director Chito Roño of Itanong Mo Sa Buwan in the division, sending uproar from well-meaning critics and regular local film observers. Nevertheless, the announced Best Director award went to Laurice Guillen.Philippine Daily Inquirer. "Austria, Marro win top honors in Metro filmfest". December 28, 1988. Newspaper Print.
In 1993, during the "Gabi ng Parangal" of the 1993 Metro Manila Film Festival, the list of winners was supposedly leaked."A scandal-free Metro Manila Filmfest". Philstar. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
In 1994, during the "Gabi ng Parangal" of 20th Metro Manila Film Festival held in PICC, the six major awards (Three Best Pictures, Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Awards, Best Director, and Best Screenplay) were not given as Alejandro Roces, chairman of the Board of Jurors announced that "none of the entries was deserving".
On December 27, 2001, during the 27th Metro Manila Film Festival, Cesar Montano, despite receiving the Best Actor award, expressed his disappointment that his film, Bagong Buwan did not receive the Best Picture award, saying that they will just buy one at Recto, a district in Manila infamously known for manufacturing forgeries.Ranoa-Bismark, Maridol. "Montano, De Rossi, Yamashita top awardees at Metro Filmfest". The Philippine Star. December 29, 2001. Newspaper Print.
In 2002, the cast of the film Dekada '70 walked out of the award ceremonies after Lualhati Bautista failed to win the Best Story and Best Screenplay awards. Even more controversial was the decision of the judges to name first-timer Ara Mina the Best Actress for her role in Mano Po, beating multi-awarded Vilma Santos, who was in Dekada '70. In addition, the producers of the films Spirit Warriors: The Shortcut and Lastikman protested the non-inclusion of the two films as official entries, prompting the Festival committee to extend the annual event. Consequently, the committee extended the film screenings to seven days to accommodate two more films which did not make it to the entries. Chito Roño, director of Second Best Picture Dekada '70, expressed wonder as to why Spirit Warriors was named the Third Best Picture award if the officials disqualified it as an official entry. The production team of Ang Agimat: Antin-Anting ni Lolo was also appalled at the decision of the jurors to give the Best Visual Effects award to Spirit Warriors if they only use "mono", beating their use of the more advanced "Dolby Digital system".Lo, Ricky. "Filmfest: The night of the young blood". The Philippine Star. December 29, 2002. Newspaper Print.
In 2005, director Joel Lamangan walked out after he lost to Jose Javier Reyes. Lamangan failed to win the Best Director for Blue Moon against Reyes' Kutob. In the same year, Regal Films's matriarch Lily Monteverde voiced out her disappointment as she lamented that some winners in the festival were "undeserving".