Summer Metro Manila Film Festival. Image: Facebook/Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Official
The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which is usually held during the Christmas season, is set to kick off its summer edition with the Parade of Stars scheduled on April 1.
The upcoming summer festival received a total 33 film submissions from filmmakers hoping to join the April film event, according to a statement released on its official Facebook page on Sunday night, Feb. 19.
Out of 33 film submissions, 23 were said to be new entries while 10 were previously submitted for the film festival’s 48th edition last December 2022.
“With the record-breaking number of films that have been submitted to us, we can say that our local movie industry is back in their game and is starting to create more quality films again for us to enjoy in the first-ever Summer MMFF,” MMDA chief and MMFF overall chairman Romando Artes said in a statement.
“The MMDA and the film industry are both excited and looking forward to the success of the summer film fest which is another avenue to showcase local talent in making world-class Filipino films. The MMFF’s victory is the victory of the whole Philippine film industry,” Artes added.
According to the MMFF, the announcement of the eight official entries is slated for Feb. 24 which were selected based on artistic excellence (40%), commercial appeal (40%), Filipino cultural sensibility (10%), and global appeal (10%).
The summer MMFF is set to run in cinemas from April 8 to 18, while the Awards Night will be held on April 11.
The 48th MMFF was said to be a “certified box-office hit” by Artes, with Best Picture awardee “Deleter”, “Family Matters”, “Labyu with an Accent”, and “Partners in Crime” having the most sales out of its eight entries. EDV