For the first time, another round of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) will be held this summer, with its eight film entries to be screened starting Black Saturday.
In a press launch of the event dubbed the Summer MMFF (SMMFF) in Makati City, MMFF and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Danilo Lim emphasized that the event will not be a minor festival and will be equal to its December counterpart.
“Lahat ng pwede gawin ng (Everything that could be done by the) MMFF executive committee ibibigay natin para maging successful ito (will be done to ensure its success). This is the first summer filmfest na gagawin natin (that we’re doing),” Lim said.
Aside from awarding prizes to winners of the festival’s several awards categories, he said winning entries will also be given the same incentives as those in previous MMFFs.
“If we give out this much for an award, we’ll do the same here.”
“I-sponsor natin sa international film fests yung mga awards na ibibigay natin — kung ilang daan libo yan for this award, ganun din. Ayaw natin masabi na itong summer film fest ay second class kumpara sa ano, dapat pareho yan (We’ll sponsor the winning entries in international film fests — if we give out this much for an award, we’ll do the same here. We don’t want anyone to say that the summer film fest is second class compared to another, it should be the same),” Lim said.
During the event, Noel Ferrer, MMFF spokesperson, was joined by actress-beauty queen Kylie Verzosa in announcing that the eight films will be screened starting April 11 (Black Saturday) until April 21.
These films, which were chosen from 24 submitted entries, include ‘A Hard Day,’ an action film starring Dingdong Dantes; Tagpuan, a romance film starring Shaina Magdayao, Alfred Vargas, and Isa Calzado; ‘Love the Way ϋ Lie,’ a romantic comedy and fantasy film starring Xian Lim; ‘Isa Pang Bahaghari,’ a family drama featuring Philip Salvador and Nora Aunor; ‘Love or Money,’ starring Coco Martin and Angelica Panganiban; ‘Coming Home,’ a family drama starring Jinggoy Estrada; ‘Ngayon Kaya,’ a romance featuring Paulo Avelino and Janine Gutierrez; and ‘The Missing,’ a horror fim starring Joseph Marco and Ritz Azul.
“The SMMFF will officially kick off on April 4 through its Parade of Stars which will feature floats.”
According to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, the SMMFF will officially start on April 4 with its Parade of Stars that will feature themed floats after the festival’s eight film entries.
The parade starts at 3 p.m. from the Mabuhay (Welcome) Rotonda and will cross Quezon City for seven kilometers through Quezon Avenue eastbound straight towards the Quezon Memorial Circle.
To give way to the parade, the eastbound lanes of Quezon Avenue, from the Mabuhay Rotonda up to the Quezon Memorial Circle will be closed to vehicular traffic from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The MMDA said its traffic enforcers as well as those from the Quezon City government will be deployed along the parade route to assist motorists and direct traffic.
The MMDA added that an hour before the parade’s start, the entire stretch of Quezon Avenue’s eastbound lanes will be cleared with illegally parked vehicles to be towed away.