‘About Us But Not About Us’ big winner in 1st Summer MMFF
PSYCHOLOGICAL drama “About Us But Not About Us” dominated the inaugural Summer Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) “Gabi ng Parangal” after it bagged ten awards out of 11 nominations.
The film took home the First Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay for Jun Robles Lana, and Best Actor for Romnick Sarmenta. Elijah Canlas was awarded Special Jury Prize. It also won Best Sound, Best Musical Score, Best Production Design, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.
Romance flick “Love You Long Time” won the Second Best Picture while the comedy film “Here Comes the Groom” snagged the Third Best Picture as well as Special Jury Prize for its ensemble cast.
“Here Comes the Groom” also brought home a landmark win as one of its lead stars, Kaladkaren, took home the Best Supporting Actress Award. “Kaladkaren,” whose real name is Jervi Li, is the first transwoman to win in the category.
MMDA Acting Chairman and concurrent MMFF Over-all Chairman, Atty. Don Artes said that the Summer MMFF was a “success” after it was shelved for three years because of COVID-19.
“The mere fact that Filipino films were given a chance to run in cinemas nationwide without the foreign films this summer is already a success of the industry,” said Artes during the Gabi ng Parangal held on Tuesday night at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City.
Artes also said that the MMFF has proven that it can produce quality and world-class films as he mentioned he received an inquiry from a foreign production company to conduct a Metro Manila International Film Festival where eight official film fest entries will be shown simultaneously in cinemas across Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, and New York, where the jurors will be Filipino-Americans.
The MMDA official is confident that this Summer Film Festival “will not be the last.”
“Habang kayong lahat ay nasa tabi namin, katulong at kaagapay, kami ay hindi magsasawa at mapapagod na magsagawa ng Summer MMFF hanggang ito ay maging isang tradisyon at maging parte na ng summer ng bawat isang Pilipino,” Artes said.
With the theme, “Tuloy-tuloy ang Saya,” the eight films will be shown in cinemas nationwide until April 18.
Proceeds from the film festival go to a number of beneficiaries in the film industry, including the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation Inc., the Motion Picture and Anti-Film Piracy Council, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Optical Media Board.
