AFTER the tremendous success of the 48th Metro Manila Film Festival, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority announced that it would hold the Metro Manila Summer Festival (MMSF) for the first time in April.
According to lawyer Romando Artes, MMDA and MMFF over-all chairman, the summer film festival will be held in April 2023 in partnership with Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP).
The MMSF will run for 11 days, starting from April 8 (Black Saturday) to April 18, in cinemas nationwide.
“We will release the deadline of submission of entries as early as we can so that interested producers and filmmakers may be guided accordingly,” he said.
The Parade of the Stars for the MMSF edition will be on April 1, while Awards Night will take place on April 11.
The first-ever summer film festival was supposed to be held from April 11 to April 21, 2020, but it was scuttled as the country was still on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was in July 2019 when Senator and MMFF Executive Committee Christopher “Bong” Go proposed to have another edition of the MMFF which would take place every summer to give more support to the local movie industry.
MMFF a hit
Artes also said that although the country is still recovering from the pandemic, the MMFF was able to reach its target gross sales amounting to P500 million.
“We are delighted to announce that we were able to reach our target gross sales amounting to ₱500-million considering that we are still recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, the 2022 MMFF is a certified box-office hit,” he said.
The showing of some of the films has even been extended to January 13, he noted.
Only 700 cinemas opened for the MMFF this year compared to previous years when 1,000 cinemas participated.
Artes vowed to continue promoting quality Filipino films.
“Rest assured that the MMFF will exert all efforts by encouraging our stakeholders, especially the local entertainment industry, to create quality films. I urge each and every one of you to patronize Filipino films,” he said.
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