Dazzler Sanya Lopez wows with her gown. yummie dingding

Aptly titled film earns respect from the country’s top entertainment editors.

On a night when the Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors or SPEEd paid its respects to some of the most iconic figures and movers and shakers of the country’s film industry, an aptly-titled motion picture was honored with six awards to lead all winners in the 2nd Eddys Entertainment Awards.

Treb Monteras II’s acclaimed hip-hop drama Respeto won Best Picture, Dido de la Paz Best Supporting Actor, Chai Fonacier Best Supporting Actress (tied with Therese Malvar of Ilawod and Angeli Bayani of Maestra), Corinne de San Jose Best Sound Design and Jay Durias Best Musical Score and Best Original Theme Song awards.

The Eddys haul of Respeto culminates an eventful year for the film where it was recognized with numerous accolades by several award-giving bodies since it became the toast of last year’s Cinemalaya film festival. The film also received numerous awards and nominations from the FAMAS, Gawad Urian and Star Awards for Movies. It has also been making the rounds of international film festivals and won the Audience Choice Award at the Cyprus Film Days International Festival.

Another film that same Cinemalaya edition was the other big winner of the Eddys. Mikhail Red’s Birdshot, the opening film of Cinemalaya 2017, won three awards: Best Director, Best Actress for newcomer Mary Joy Apostol and Best Cinematography for Mycko David.

Aga Muhlach was the surprise winner Best Actor for his comeback film, Seven Sundays while other films that won one award each were Ang Panday for Best Visual Effects, Kita Kita for Best Editing (Marya Ignacio), Ang Larawan for Best Production Design (Gino Gonzales) and Deadma Walking for Best Screenplay (Eric Cabahug).

Screen legends Maricel Soriano, Charo Santos-Concio, Nora Aunor, Susan Roces, Eddie Garcia and Gloria Romero were all honored with the Film Icon Tribute awards for their contributions to the industry. Movie scribe Ricky Lo was honored with the Joe Quirino award while the late Mario Hernando, movie critic and founding member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, was posthumously honored with the Manny Pichel award.

Also honored with the posthumous award was filmmaker Maryo J. de los Reyes. Also honored in a moving “In Memoriam” tribute were recently passed away artists that included Soxy Topacio, Emmanuel “Maning” Borlaza, Argel Joseph, Bernardo Bernardo, Zeny Zabala and Isabel Granada.

Viva Films head honcho Vic del Rosario, Jr. was also recognized as Producer of the Year while next generation producers Roselle Monteverde of Regal Entertainment and Veronique del Rosario of Viva Entertainment were also honored with the Rising Producers award.

Among the attendees, JC Santos and Sanya Lopez were adjudged as the Best Dressed actors of the night by Mega magazine while David Licauco and Andrea Torres won the Inside Showbiz Stars of the Night.

Presented by Globe Telecom in cooperation with the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the 2nd Eddys Awards was hosted by siblings Ruffa and Raymond Gutierrez and featured performances from Noel Cabangon, Bituin Escalante, Jona, Abra and Loonie and Ciara Sotto. Photos by Yummie Dingding and Dinah S. Ventura