‘Leonor Will Never Die,’ ‘Blue Room’ lead 46th Gawad Urian nominees

The Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino has revealed the nominees for the 2023 Gawad Urian Awards. The group, deemed one of the country's most prestigious award-giving bodies, has been recognizing outstanding work in Filipino cinema since 1977.

Martika Ramirez Escobar's Leonor Will Never Die and Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan's Blue Room lead the nominees with 10 nods each, followed by Lav Diaz's Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon with nine nominations.

Leonor Will Never Die was previously awarded the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Amplify Voices Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Meanwhile, Blue Room won the Special Jury Prize at the 2022 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at La Femme International Film Festival in October.

The best actor category is packed with nominees who have already won the same honors in other award-giving bodies: 22-year-old Tommy Alejandrino at the 2022 Cinemalaya, Noel Trinidad at the 2023 FAMAS Awards and John Lloyd Cruz at the 76th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.

Nadine Lustre, who won the Gawad Urian Best Actress award in 2019 for the romantic film Never Not Love You, is once again a Best Actress nominee for the horror film Deleter.

Veteran actor and musical scorer Jaime Fabregas, recognized for the films Scorpio Nights (1969), Shake, Rattle & Roll (1984), José Rizal (1998) and Ang Panday (2017), will be the recipient of the Natatanging Gawad Urian, the lifetime achievement award given to film industry pillars. The latest recipient was renowned animator Roxlee.

The 46th Gawad Urian Night will be held at the University of the Philippines Film Institute on 29 November.

The complete list of nominees:

Best Film: Blue Room; Leonor Will Never Die; 12 Weeks; Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon

Best Director: Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan, Blue Room; Lav Diaz, Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Martika Ramirez Escobar, Leonor Will Never Die; Anna Isabelle Matutina, 12 Weeks; Carlo Obispo, The Baseball Player; Mikhail Red, Deleter

Best Actor: Tommy Alejandrino, The Baseball Player; John Lloyd Cruz, Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Baron Geisler, Doll House; Andrew Ramsay, Ginhawa; Noel Trinidad, Family Matters

Best Actress: Max Eigenmann, 12 Weeks; Chai Fonacier, Nocebo; Shiela Francisco, Leonor Will Never Die; Nadine Lustre, Deleter

Best Supporting Actor: Soliman Cruz, Blue Room; Dido dela Paz, Ginhawa; JK Labajo, Blue Room; Ronnie Lazaro, Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Rocky Salumbides, Leonor Will Never Die

Best Supporting Actress: Sharmaine Centenera Buencamino, Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Claudia Enriquez, 12 Weeks; Bing Pimentel, 12 Weeks; Nikki Valdez, Family Matters

Best Screenplay: Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Leonor Will Never Die; Plan 75; Blue Room; 12 Weeks; Nocebo

Best Cinematography: Blue Room; Deleter; Nocebo; Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Leonor Will Never Die; Plan 75

Best Editing: Leonor Will Never Die; Nocebo; Blue Room; The Baseball Player; Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Deleter

Best Production Design: Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon; Blue Room; Leonor Will Never Die; Nocebo

Best Music: Blue Room; Leonor Will Never Die; Nocebo

Best Sound: Nocebo; Deleter; Leonor Will Never Die; Blue Room; The Baseball Player; Ginhawa; Nanahimik ang Gabi

Natatanging Gawad Urian: Jaime Francisco Garcia Fabregas