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Film critics cite ’12 Weeks’ as PHL best film in 2022

by RepublicAsia

PUBLISHED ON March 1, 2023

(PRESS RELEASE) 12 Weeks, the Cinemalaya-winning film by Anna Isabelle Matutina about a woman facing personal and professional crises surrounding her sudden pregnancy, has been selected by the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers (SFFR) as the best Filipino film of 2022 in its 3rd Pinoy Rebyu Awards, besting over 100 other local releases that year.

It also wins for Matutina’s screenplay, and the bravura turns of co-stars Max Eigenmann and Claudia Enriquez, who take home the trophies for Best Lead Performance and Supporting Performance, respectively.

For the third year in a row, the film that brings home the top award also receives the Best First Feature plum, a testament to the excellence of the country’s new filmmakers and a portent of a bright future for the local film industry.

Indeed, 2022 was a tremendous year for new cinematic voices.

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The internationally acclaimed Leonor Will Never Die, a vibrant homage to 70s and 80s Pinoy movies, takes four trophies, including Best Director for Martika Ramirez Escobar, who strikes gold for her first full-length feature film.

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Leonor nearly completes a sweep of the technical categories, claiming the awards for editing, cinematography, and production design. Preventing that sweep is the victory of the horror film Deleter (dir. Mikhail Red) in the Best Original Score category.

Other notable winners

The 20-actor cast of Nuel Naval’s Family Matters claims the other performance category, Best Ensemble Performance, for the wonderful display of natural and joyful synergy among its massive cast of neophytes and veterans.

The SFFR also honors the film 11,103, which bravely tackles the stories of Martial Law survivors, with the Best Documentary Feature award. The film was directed by Jeannette Ifurung and Mike Alcazaren and was nominated for Best Film and Best Original Score.

Short film winners

Meanwhile, in the short film categories, Whammy Alcazaren’s Bold Eagle wins for Best Live Action Short, Pinoy Rebyu’s equivalent of the award that it received at the QCinema Film Festival.

Recognizing the incredible diversity of Pinoy shorts in 2022, the SFFR also heralded the Best Animated Short and Best Documentary Short. Keith Deligero’s Brand X and Mervine Aquino’s Palengke Day are the winners in these two categories, respectively.

Best foreign film

The Best International Film award is handed to Decision to Leave by highly regarded auteur Park Chan-wook, who won Best Director at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

The film was South Korea’s official submission to the Best International Feature Film category of the 95th Academy Awards and was included in the shortlist.