MANILA, Philippines — For its golden edition, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) presents one of the “best collections of films,” but not a few have noticed the absence of the quintessential family or child-friendly entry.
MMFF chairman, lawyer Romando Artes, acknowledged this observation while pointing out the overall variety of the filmfest’s offerings this year.
“Siempre, iba’t ibang genres naman,” Artes explained. “May mga dark like I understand ‘Topakk’ and ‘Uninvited,’ then the usual, yung dalawang horror — ‘pag horror dark talaga yan,” he told The STAR in a recent interview.
“But I think we have a good balance of movies. It’s just that siguro ang missing talaga ngayon ay yung talagang pambata. The problem kasi, wala kaming na-receive na entry na medyo fantasy or yung masasabi mong pambata. Wala talaga. Na-surprise kami, yes.”
Artes, however, doesn’t see this affecting the box-office results of this year’s MMFF, stressing that there are still films in the lineup that families can enjoy together.
“Hindi naman siguro. Meron namang movies na pam-pamilya na pwedeng panoorin ng mga bata kasi marami naman PG-rated na pwede rin sa bata. Or more likely young adults. Pero pwede pa rin naman sa pambata,” he said.
MMDA and MMFF chair Romando Artes (center) with (from left) FDCP chair Jose Javier Reyes and MTRCB chair Lala Sotto-Antonio. — Photo courtesy of MMFF and MMDA
As per Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), only Regal Entertainment’s “My Future You” earned a G rating, making it suitable for all audiences. Directed by Crisanto Aquino, the romantic-comedy is about two young adults — played by Seth Fedelin and Francine Diaz — who meet via a dating app despite living in different timelines with a 15-year gap.
On the other hand, the PG-rated films are Mike Tuviera’s “The Kingdom” (starring Vic Sotto, Piolo Pascual), Jun Lana’s “And the Breadwinner is… ” (Vice Ganda, Eugene Domingo), Zig Dulay’s “Green Bones” (Dennis Trillo, Ruru Madrid), Chito Rono’s “Espantaho” (Judy Ann Santos, Lorna Tolentino), Pepe Diokno’s “Isang Himala” (Aicelle Santos, Bituin Escalante), and Jason Paul Laxamana’s “Hold Me Close” (Carlo Aquino, Julia Barretto). This means viewers of these films, who are 13 years old or below, must be accompanied by a parent or a supervising adult.
“Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital,” topbilled by Enrique Gil and directed by Kerwin Go, is R-13. Dan Villegas’ “Uninvited” featuring past MMFF acting winners Vilma Santos, Aga Muhlach and Nadine Luster in a thriller that takes place within 24 hours, has been classified as R-16. While the Arjo Atayde and Julia Montes’ actioner, “Topakk,” directed by Richard Somes, received the R-16 and R-18 classifications depending on the cinemas.
Asked if they’re confident that the 50th MMFF will beat 2023’s box-office earnings of more than P1 billion, consequently becoming the highest-grossing edition of all time, Artes said, “We are hoping to match last year. But more than anything else, mas gusto ko kumita lahat ng pelikula. Kasi kung kikita lahat, mas marami pang gagawa ng magagandang pelikula or mag-invest, knowing may pag-asa pala kumita lahat ‘pag pumasok sa MMFF.”
In a separate interview, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Jose Javier “Direk Joey” Reyes echoed this optimism, calling this year’s roster as “one of the best collections of 10 films.”
Reyes, who directed such winning and top-earning past MMFF films as “May Minamahal” and “Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo,” reminisced about the MMFF’s history of family films, including Laurice Guillen’s “Tanging Yaman” as a benchmark. He also noted that comedies, like those of Vic Sotto, traditionally filled this role. He admitted to also finding it “weird” that no producer submitted child-centric entries for this year.
“The theory is… because they are targeting millennials and young professionals who can afford. The assumption is ilan ba ang families na magdadala talaga ng lahat ng bata sa sinehan,” said Reyes.
Does he think this will have a bearing on the box-office results? He opined that if last year’s festival had runaway hit in “Rewind,” this year might see earnings spread across multiple entries.
“Which is good, the important thing is the more movies make money… Usually, in the MMFF, three out of 10 make money. Hopefully, four or five movies make money or break even, masaya na,” he further told The STAR.
“Pero sana may mag-jackpot like ‘Rewind.’ Ang epekto din kasi ng ticket prices, nawawalan ng return business. Wala nang bumabalik para manood ng second time.”
Still, what makes the FDCP head particularly excited about the 2024 MMFF lineup is “ang ganda ng curation, not only because you have the biggest stars, but because of the variety of films.”
“I can never imagine a festival with Vice, Vilma, Vic, Piolo, Dennis to Lorna, Judy Ann all lumped together. These are de-kalibre films,” Reyes stated.
He added that many of the films were ambitious in scope and production, citing as an example “The Kingdom.” The production had sought the help of the government’s film agency in using a real battleship for the opening scene in the film that reimagines present-day Philippines as an uncolonized nation with a monarchy type of government.
Meanwhile, the MMFF has long been considered a Christmas tradition by Filipino families, a sentiment supported by a recent study by the FDCP, in collaboration with the De La Salle University Manila (DLSU), on “habits and preferences of Filipino viewers of local films in Metro Manila.”
According to findings presented during the FDCP Stakeholders Meeting on Dec. 16, MMFF’s strong patronage is driven by its “establishment as a Christmas family tradition,” as well as intensified promotion of MMFF films, a wide variety of local films, and people having more disposable income during Christmas. As MMFF celebrates its 50th year, it’s no surprise that it continues to be regarded as the biggest movie event of the year, carrying with it the high expectations of showcasing the best of Filipino cinema.
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