42nd MMFF kicks off with Parade of Stars

The 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) kicked off Friday afternoon with the annual Parade of Stars, which had thousands of fans giddily lining the streets of Manila to catch a glimpse of their favorite actors As early as 11 a.m., three hours before the event’s official start, people were already milling around Liwasang Bonifacio — the event’s starting point — waiting for the celebs to mount the eight, eye-catching floats representing the eight competing entries in this year’s festival: “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2: #ForeverIsNotEnough,” “Kabisera,” “Oro,” “Saving Sally,” “Die Beautiful,” “Sunday Beauty Queen,” “Vince and Kath and James” and “Seklusyon.”   “This is my first time joining the parade, and I couldn’t quite believe it,” said Julia Barretto, star of “Vince and Kath and James.” “Not too long ago we were just joking about.”   “Kabisera’s” Jason Abalos, another parade first-timer, said he was looking forward to seeing the all fans in person. “My Christmas is made more special because of this experience. I consider this a privilege,” he said.    Unlike the previous parades, which moved mostly along Roxas Boulevard, this year’s followed a different route, passing through Taft Avenue, Quintin Paredes, Rizal Avenue, Claro M. Recto Avenue and Quezon Boulevard. The final stop was Plaza Miranda, where the stars did last-minute plugging of their respective movies, which opens in cinemas on Dec. 25.    The new route, organizers said, brought the parade “closer to the people.”