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.”
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