A proposal for a second edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) to be held in the summer has been approved by the MMFF executive committee.
The first Metro Manila Summer Film Festival (MMSFF)
—showcasing Filipino films and similar to the scale of the MMFF held every Christmas season—will run from April 11 to 21, 2020, according to the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia said the project seeks “to help the movie industry arrest the declining viewership of Filipino films brought about by the influx of foreign movies and the development and growth of affordable entertainment and media platforms.”
Garcia added: “Our MMDA chair (Danilo Lim) got a text message from the senator (Bong Go) asking if we could have another MMFF edition. This was because there were several actor-friends who reached out to him to share their situation. The idea really came from him (Go).”
Garcia also reported that a Metro Manila Council meeting, attended by 15 mayors, was held on Thursday morning wherein “they all gave their 100 percent support to this project.”
A consultation with film producers was also held on Wednesday, he added.
The MMDA announced that the lineup for the first MMSFF will be culled from finished films produced not earlier than Jan. 1, 2019, as well as those submitted earlier for this year’s MMFF.
The MMFF selection committee will choose eight entries to be shown exclusively in all theaters nationwide for an 11-day period starting Black Saturday up to the second Tuesday thereafter, according to Romando “Don” Artes, coexecutive chair of the MMFF execom.
“It has been decided that the MMFF criteria for selecting the entries would be retained, since this is the first summer film fest. This is also so that there won’t be any major changes that would take so much of our time. Rest assured that as we go along, we would be open to suggestions as to how to improve the summer festival,” Artes said during the media gathering at the MMDA main office on Thursday.
The deadline for submission of new finished films for the MMSFF will be on Jan. 31, while the announcement of the final entries will be on Feb. 13, Artes added.
The traditional Parade of Stars will be on Palm Sunday, or April 5, 2020, in Quezon City, which will be hosting both MMFF editions. The awards ceremony will be on April 15.
The summer film fest will be in partnership with the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines, or CEAP.
“We are giving the same support we give for the MMFF during Christmas time, where 100 percent of our cinemas are dedicated to the screening of local movies, or the chosen film fest entries,” said CEAP chair Annie Naval. “We will always be supportive of this initiative, as long as it supports the movie industry.”