At first glance, a film trophy is an object of celebration—a gleaming symbol of victory, applause, and artistic recognition. But for artist Toym Leon Imao, the 51st Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) trophy was never meant to be just a prize. It was designed as a question, a challenge, and a call to responsibility—something to be held, examined, and ultimately, acted upon.

When Imao unveiled the MMFF 2025 trophy, titled Tatangnan, he revealed a work rooted in intellectual rigor and moral urgency. Drawing inspiration from two figures who viewed art as an instrument of social engagement—German playwright Bertolt Brecht and National Artist for Film Marilou Diaz-Abaya—the trophy transforms cinema’s highest honor into a philosophical object.

Brecht’s assertion that art is not a mirror but a hammer forms the conceptual backbone of the piece. It rejects passive consumption and insists that art must shape reality, unsettle comfort, and provoke critical thought. This idea finds a local echo in Diaz-Abaya’s oft-repeated teaching: “The camera is a loaded gun.” For her, filmmaking carried ethical weight, with every frame a decision and every story an intervention.

That lesson is personal for Imao. As a former film student and apprentice under Diaz-Abaya from 2009 to 2010, he absorbed her belief in cinema as an active social force. Years later, that influence resurfaces in Tatangnan, a trophy that refuses neutrality.

Formally, the sculpture embodies this dual philosophy. Its silhouette evokes both a hammer and the grip of a gun—tools associated with action, impact, and consequence. Embedded details reference the evolution of filmmaking: film reels recall cinema’s analog roots, while a subtle “play” icon gestures toward the digital present. Together, these elements collapse past and present, underscoring that while platforms change, responsibility does not.

The title Tatangnan deepens the work’s meaning. In Filipino, the word suggests holding, grasping, and taking possession, but also looking closely, examining, and scrutinizing. It fuses tangnan (to hold) and tingnan (to look), uniting action and reflection. In this sense, the trophy becomes more than an award. It becomes an invitation—to hold cinema firmly, to look at it honestly, and to wield it with care.

Placed in the hands of filmmakers during the MMFF Gabi ng Parangal, Tatangnan quietly asks what they intend to do with the power they now hold. Will their films merely reflect the world as it is, or will they attempt to shape what it could become?

This approach reflects Imao’s broader practice. A multidisciplinary artist, educator, and human rights advocate, his work sits at the intersection of art, history, and social engagement. Mentored by National Artists Napoleon Abueva and his father Abdulmari Asia Imao, trained in film under Diaz-Abaya, and grounded in Philippine history through his work with Alejandro Roces, Imao’s creative life has been shaped by lineage as much as by conviction.

From public monuments and politically engaged installations to theater design and award-winning film work, his career reflects a consistent belief: art matters because it intervenes. His recognitions—from Cinemalaya and Gawad Buhay to Metrobank MADE and other cultural honors—underscore a body of work that refuses to separate aesthetics from ethics.

As Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, Imao continues to shape not only objects, but ways of thinking. With Tatangnan, he extends that responsibility to every MMFF awardee, reminding them that cinema, like the trophy they now hold, is never just something to admire.

It is something to grasp, to question, and ultimately, to use.