2023 has seen many Filipinos flocking to moviehouses to celebrate Christmas with their family and friends.
The reason? It’s probably because they want to experience a rollercoaster of emotions that the 10 official entries of the 49th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) are offering to cinephiles.
This year’s MMFF lineup includes “Family of Two,” “Kampon,” “Penduko,” “Rewind,” “Becky and Badette,” “Broken Hearts Trip,” “Firefly,” “GomBurZa,” “Mallari,” and “When I Met You in Tokyo.”
These heart-fluttering, family-centered, spine-chilling movies were recognized last night at the 2023 Gabi ng Parangal, held at the New Frontier Theater in Cubao, Quezon City.
In case you missed what happened, here are some highlights of the prestigious awards night:
Stars on the red carpet
The star-studded event kicked off with celebrities walking the red carpet of the 2023 Gabi ng Parangal, where they were greeted by members of the media.
Among those who graced the red carpet were Kapuso actor Miguel Tanfelix, who came along with actress Ysabel Ortega. They both starred in the fantasy film “Firefly,” which won three awards including the Best Picture.
Miles Ocampo arrived in an all-black ensemble as one of the actresses in the drama film “Family of Two.”
Kakai Bautista, who starred in “When I Met You in Tokyo,” also struck a pose on the red carpet as she flaunted her red dress.
Onscreen tandem Darren Espanto and Cassy Legaspi arrived together in their black-and-white outfits. The two young stars are part of the cast members of “When I Met You in Tokyo.”
Celebrity couple Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes, who headlined the romance-drama film “Rewind,” also strutted the red carpet, with the actor wearing a coat and tie and the actress donning a sparkly red dress.
“Penduko” star Matteo Guidicelli, “Mallari” actor Tommy Alejandrino, and “GomBurZa” actors Enchong Dee and Cedrick Juan were also present on the red carpet.
‘GomBurZa’ wins big
Loud cheers and applause filled the New Frontier Theater for the historical film “GomBurZa,” which garnered seven MMFF awards including Best Director for Pepe Diokno, Best Actor for Juan, and second Best Picture.
“GomBurZa” took home the most number of awards from the Gabi ng Parangal as it was also recognized for having the Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography. It also received the special Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award.
In his acceptance speech for the Best Director award, Diokno thanked everyone who helped him bring the historical film to life.
“We are all united by this love of a story about our country that brought us to the finish line,” he said.
The filmmaker also commended all the MMFF entries this year for bringing Filipinos back to the cinemas.
“All the films are amazing this year, and it’s so nice to see people back in the cinemas. Nakakataba po ng puso. I hope that this is [the] start of a good trend for Philippine cinema in general,” said Diokno.
He continued, “Mabuhay po ang pelikulang Pilipino at mabuhay po ang Pilipinas.”
“GomBurZa” centers around the story of three martyr Filipino priests—Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora—during the Spanish colonization in the country. The trio was collectively known as “GomBurZa,” the combination of the first syllables of the priests’ surnames.
It starred Dee, Juan, Dante Rivero, Tommy Alejandrino, Elijah Canlas, Jaime Fabregas, Ketchup Eusebio, and Epy Quizon, among others.
Juan, Vilma Santos deliver emotional speeches
The awards night became emotional when the MMFF named the recipients of the Best Actor and Best Actress awards: Juan and Vilma Santos, respectively.
The two lead stars were moved to tears when they delivered their acceptance speeches onstage.
Juan bested Alden Richards from “Family of Two,” Piolo Pascual from “Mallari,” Derek Ramsey for “Kampon,” Dingdong Dantes for “Rewind,” and Christopher de Leon from “When I Met You in Tokyo.”
Santos, on the other hand, won against Eugene Domingo and Pokwang from “Becky and Badette,” Sharon Cuneta from “Family of Two,” Beauty Gonzalez from “Kampon,” and Marian Rivera from “Rewind.”
Juan, who played the role of Burgos in “GomBurZa,” expressed his sincere gratitude to those who believed in him.
“Maraming, maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat at sumugal kayo sa isang katulad ko na nagmamahal sa pag-arte. Maraming, maraming salamat teatro,” he proudly said.
The actor dedicated his coveted award to all Filipinos who weren’t served with justice. He also hoped that viewers would learn more about the country’s history through the film.
“Inaalay ko po itong parangal na ito para sa lahat ng Pilipinong hindi nakakakuha ng tamang hustisya dahil 152 years ago ganoon po ‘yung nangyayari sa atin, at ‘yan po ang kwento ng tatlong paring martir na sana ay matuto tayo sa ating history, hindi dahil para baguhin ito kundi para matuto,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Santos, who portrayed Azon in “When I Met You in Tokyo,” said that the Best Actress award was unexpected as the team behind the romance film wasn’t initially eyeing for a recognition when they produced “When I Met You in Tokyo.”
“Ang adbokasiya lang po namin talaga when we did ‘When I Met You in Tokyo,’ it’s not even the Best Actress or Best Actor. We just wanted to do a simple love story sa edad po namin, pero ang talagang adbokasiya po namin ay maging successful ang Metro Manila Film Festival,” said the Star for All Seasons.
“And at the same time, mabalik po sana yung mga tao sa sine. ‘Yun po ang aming inasam-asam nang makasama po ito [sa] Metro Manila Film Festival, ‘yun po ang dream namin,” she added.
It seems that the “When I Met You in Tokyo” team made their dream come true as Filipinos were seen flocking to the moviehouses when the MMFF kicked off on Christmas Day, December 25.
With this success, the veteran actress hoped that the support for local films would continue in the future.
“Sana ho magtuloy-tuloy kasi ito ang kailangan ng ating industriya, na ma-appreciate po nila ulit ang panunuod sa sine with their family, bonding, and I think it’s happening now,” said Santos.
Ocampo’s ‘first’ acting award
Ocampo received applause from the crowd when she was named the Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Family of Two.” She said that this recognition was her “first” acting award in her two-decade-long career in the entertainment industry.
She won against Agot Isidro from “Becky and Badette,” Alessandra de Rossi from “Firefly,” and Gloria Diaz and Janella Salvador from “Mallari.”
“Six years old po ako nung nagsimula sa industriya, 27 [years old] na po ako next year, first time ko pong nakatanggap ng award. Ganito po pala feeling ng mga artista,” said the Gen Z actress in her acceptance speech.
The “E.A.T.” host shared that she was reluctant about accepting the project as she recently underwent thyroidectomy surgery to remove her thyroid glands, after she was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Ocampo revealed this in an Instagram post in April.
“Kakatapos ko lang po operahan nung gawin ‘to baka sabihin mukha akong nanay ni Alden,” she jested.
Nonetheless, she thanked everyone including her family for trusting and supporting her.
“Pina-practice ko lang ‘to dati, may award na tayo,” she said.
She continued, “Sa lahat po ng hanggang ngayon ay naniniwala sa kaya ko, maraming-maraming salamat po. Lord, ang dami pong nangyari ngayong taon pero thank you po.”
Ocampo recently made headlines when her former boyfriend Elijah Canlas confirmed that they had broken up.
The Best Supporting Actor was given to JC Santos for his performance in “Mallari.”
Special awards recipients
The MMFF jurors also gave more special awards at the Gabi ng Parangal aside from the Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award.
They gave the Gender Sensitivity Award to “Becky and Badette,” which also won the Best Original Theme Song for “Finggah Lickin.”
Lily Monteverde, also known as Mother Lily, was the recipient of the Marichu Veraperez Maceda Memorial Award. It was filmmaker Joey Javier Reyes who received the recognition on her behalf.
Meanwhile, the FPJ Memorial Award For Excellence was given to “When I Met You in Tokyo” for showcasing “outstanding Filipino filmmaking.”
