MMFF 50th Edition: Excitement builds as first half of finalists revealed

We are still five months away from the 50th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival, yet the local film community is already buzzing with excitement for the highly anticipated nationwide holiday entertainment. 

On 16 July at the Manila City Hall, the country’s biggest and most lucrative movie film festival announced the first half of the 10 finalists.

With Filipino audiences becoming more discerning, demanding and critical since the advent of easy access to thousands of movies online, the festival is pressured to bring the best of mainstream cinema. It also needs to either sustain or surpass last year’s record-breaking success, which boasted an unprecedented earning of P1.2 billion, mostly thanks to box-office gold Rewind.

This year’s impressive lineup of directors includes Pepe Diokno, coming off the heels of his critically acclaimed Gomburza; household name Jun Robles Lana; Kerwin Go of Mina-Anud and Keys to the Heart; the award-winning Zig Dulay of last year’s MMFF weeper Firefly; and Michael Tuviera, who helmed the 2016 Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza romance Imagine You & Me.

It’s a creative powerhouse, with screenwriters that include Dustin Celestino, known for his 2023 incisive Cinemalaya drama Ang Duyan ng Magiting and Ricky Lee. Most of the directors also served as co-screenwriters.

For its golden jubilee, with the theme “SineSigla sa Singkwenta,” MMFF’s first five feature entries are the following.

And the Breadwinner Is…

Jun Robles Lana’s entry stars Vice Ganda and Eugene Domingo. Produced by ABS-CBN Film Production Inc. and the Idea First Company, the comedy follows a breadwinner (Vice Ganda) who is presumed dead by the police. With a 10-million-peso insurance claim under her name, she keeps up this “mistaken identity” in order to bring wealth to her clan.

The comedy-drama also stars Gina Pareño, Maris Racal, Jhong Hilario and Kokoy de Santos. It is written by Daisy Cayanan, Jumbo Albano and Lana.

Green Bones

Zig Dulay’s suspense-drama, written by Ricky Lee and Angeli Atienza, follows a soon-to-be-released criminal. But a corrections officer, who is still grieving from the loss of his sister, is not allowing it. The film stars Sofia Pablo and Dennis Trillo, and is produced by GMA Pictures.

Strange Frequencies: Haunted Hospital 

The found-footage horror from Kerwin Go follows a group of celebrities in the famously “haunted” Xinglin Hospital in Taiwan. As the celebs try to escape the haunted hospital, they experience sinister forces -- both supernatural and worldly.

Produced by Reality MM Studios Inc., the horror is co-written by Go with playwright Dustin Celestino and Leovic Arceta. It stars Jane De Leon, Enrique Gil, Alexa Miro and MJ Lastimosa.

Himala: Isang Musical 

Pepe Diokno and Ricky Lee teamed up to write the screenplay for a musical based on the Nora Aunor-starrer Himala (1982) by Ishmael Bernal. 

Directed by Diokno, the musical stars a barrio woman, Elsa, who was allegedly chosen by the Virgin Mary to heal the sick. She soon attracts droves of ill people seeking for miraculous healing. Produced by Kapitol Films and UXS, it stars Aicelle Santos, Bituin Escalante, David Ezra and Vic Robinson.

The Kingdom

Vic Sotto and Piolo Pascual star in a family action-drama directed by Michael Tuviera and written by Michelle Nguario. It follows a lakan from the Kingdom of Katagalugan, whose favorite child is kidnapped by members of a secessionist group.

MMFF Calendar of Activities

For its milestone year, the MMFF will set up various activities leading up to 25 December, the opening day of the festival. The pre-festival programs range between visual arts, digital media and fashion.

In August, the MMFF will launch the “Classics Poster Murals” program in partnership with iACADEMY. Then, in September, Pinoys will get to enjoy select Filipino films at the cinemas for only P50 each for the “Sine-Singkwenta” program.

MMFF’s regional launch will happen the following month, including a student film caravan that will take place on 18 and 19 October. Through this program, in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines, 100 senior high school and college students may join masterclasses on directing, acting, cinematography and scriptwriting. 

For November, the MMFF scheduled a fundraising event, as well as a celebrity golf tournament, plus masterclasses from international Filipino screenwriters, producers and animators.

December: MMFF Month 

The annual parade will happen on 15 December. On the same day, the promotional red-carpet premieres will kickstart — which will end on 20 December.

On 21 December, there will be a “Sponsors’ Night,” and the awards night, called the “Gabi ng Parangal,” will happen on 27 December. 

The fest’s 50th year will also give its awards trophy a new look. It will be designed by Jefre Figueras Manuel, popularly known as JEFRË, a Filipino-American visual artist based in Orlando, Florida, and the man behind “The Victor,” the lighting projection art installation in Robinsons Bridgetowne.

The MMFF will also release a coffee table book on the 50-year history of the film festival in March 2025.

In his speech at the launch, MMDA and MMFF concurrent acting chairman Atty. Don Artes said: 

“Sa pagkakataong ito, gusto kong pagnilayan natin ang mga salita ni dating Pangulo Ferdinand Marcos sa dating Unang Ginang Imelda Marcos, na kung maalala natin ay siyang unang namuno sa MMFF, kung saan sinabi niya sa dating Unang Ginang, ‘I will take care of the body of the nation, you must take care of the soul.’ Ito ay humantong sa isang legasiya ni Unang Ginang Imelda Marcos ng pagtataguyod ng sining at kultura, na nagtanim ng pagmamalaki sa pagiging Pilipino. Hayaan itong maging inspirasyon at gabay sa ating pagsisimula sa ika-50 taon ng MMFF (On this occasion, I would like us to reflect on the words of former President Ferdinand Marcos to former First Lady Imelda Marcos, who, as we remember, was the first to lead the MMFF, where he said to the former First Lady, ‘I will take care of the body of the nation, you must take care of the soul.’ This led to a legacy of former First Lady Imelda Marcos in promoting arts and culture, instilling pride in being Filipino. Let this be an inspiration and guide as we embark on the 50th year of the MMFF).”