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The 2021 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is the 47th edition of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival. It is organized by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). It was the second of the two editions to be held during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
| Awards | Gabi ng Parangal (transl. Awards Night) |
|---|---|
| No. of films | 8 |
| Festival date | December 25, 2021 to January 7, 2022 |
The 2021 film festival was held to live audiences in cinemas after level alert measures in the Philippines were relaxed.[1][2] Entries in the 2020 edition were made available through online streaming since cinemas were closed and not allowed to operate (with the exception of select cinemas in areas on Level 3).
Only around 300 movie theaters were allowed to screen, down from the usual 900. Many cinemas were left deteriorated due to being unused for the past two years due to the pandemic-related closures. Theaters were only allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity with only those vaccinated allowed to be admitted and food and drinks are prohibited (on Alert Level 2 and 3 areas) This is compounded by the impact of Typhoon Rai (Odette) which caused major power disruption in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.[3][4]
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Feature films
The number of entries for the Metro Manila Film Festival returned to eight for the 2021 edition.[1] Unlike the previous edition, the number of entries were temporarily expanded to ten since the 2020 edition was held virtually.[5] The deadline for entries was set on October 31, 2021.[6] There were 19 film submissions.[1][7] The eight entries were announced on November 12, 2021.[1]
| Title | Starring | Production company | Director | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Hard Day | Dingdong Dantes, John Arcilla | Viva Films and AgostoDos Pictures | Lawrence Fajardo | Action |
| Big Night! | Christian Bables | Cignal Entertainment, The IdeaFirst Company, Octobertrain Films, Quantum Films | Jun Lana | Black Comedy |
| Huling Ulan sa Tag-Araw | Rita Daniela, Ken Chan | Heaven's Best Entertainment | Louie Ignacio | Romance, Comedy |
| Huwag Kang Lalabas | Kim Chiu, Aiko Melendez, Beauty Gonzalez | Obra Cinema, Cineko Productions | Adolfo Alix Jr. | Horror, Anthology |
| Kun Maupay Man it Panahon | Charo Santos-Concio, Daniel Padilla, Rans Rifol | Globe Studios, Black Sheep Productions, Dreamscape Entertainment | Carlo Francisco Manatad | Drama |
| Love at First Stream | Kaori Oinuma, Jeremiah Lisbo, Daniela Stranner, Anthony Jennings | ABS-CBN Film Productions | Cathy Garcia-Molina | Romantic, Comedy |
| Nelia | Winwyn Marquez, Raymond Bagatsing, Ali Forbes | A and Q Production Films | Lester Dimaranan | Suspense, Drama |
| The Exorsis | Toni Gonzaga, Alex Gonzaga | TINCAN, Viva Films | Fifth Solomon | Horror, Comedy |
Short films
The MMFF, in partnership with Meta Philippines, launched the Facebook Creator Exhibition. Five short films by content creators, produced with the theme "lockdown", was made available for streaming on Facebook under the exhibition.[8][9]
| Title | Content creator |
|---|---|
| Let It Simmer | Erwan Heussaff / The Fat Kid Inside Studios / FEATR. |
| Kandado (transl. Locked) | Pio Balbuena |
| Dito Ka Lang (transl. Stay here) | Beverly Cumla |
| Then and Now | Discover MNL |
| Pepe sa Lockdown (transl. Pepe in Lockdown) | Rayn Brizuela / PGAG |
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The Parade of Stars for the 2021 MMFF is a fluvial parade instead of the traditional motorcade; which is a first in the history of the film festival.[10] Consequentially, ferry boats were used instead of floats on land-based motor vehicles.[11] The event was held on December 19, 2021, despite rainy weather.[12] The route covered the Pasig River and the cities of Makati and Pasig. This was done as a means to promote the Pasig River Ferry Service, which is operated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).[13]
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| 2021 Metro Manila Film Festival Gabi ng Parangal | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 27, 2021 |
| Site | Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier, Taguig |
| Hosted by | Giselle Sanchez |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Big Night! |
| Best Director | Jun Lana (Big Night!) |
| Best Actor | Christian Bables (Big Night!) |
| Best Actress | Charo Santos-Concio (Kun Maupay Man it Panahon) |
| Most awards | Big Night! (8) |
The Gabi ng Parangal (transl. Awards Night) of the 2021 Metro Manila Film Festival was held at the Samsung Hall of the SM Aura Premier in Taguig on December 27, 2021.[14] The awards night was hosted by Giselle Sanchez.[15]
The jury includes Manet Dayrit, Congresswoman Aloy Lim, and Senator Bong Go.[15]
Major awards
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡). Nominations are also listed if applicable.[16][17][18][19][20][21]
Other awards
- Natatanging Gawad MMFF – Danilo Lim and Bienvenido Lumbera
- Manay Ichu Vera-Perez Maceda Memorial Award – Rosa Rosal
Short Film category
- Special Jury Prize – Kandado of Pio Balbuena
Multiple awards
| Awards | Film |
|---|---|
| 8 | Big Night! |
| 7 | Kun Maupay Man it Panahon |
| 4 | A Hard Day |
Multiple nominations
| Nominations | Film |
|---|---|
| 15 | Big Night! |
| 13 | Kun Maupay Man it Panahon |
| 9 | A Hard Day |
| 6 | Love at First Stream[a] |
| 3 | Huwag Kang Lalabas |
| 2 | The Exorsis |
| Nelia | |
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No official figures have been released. MMFF spokesperson Noel Ferrer dispute claims that the 2021 MMFF has underperformed box office due to rise of COVID-19, the limit of age, the controversy by the delaying of big blockbusters with Spider-Man: No Way Home, the lackluster of strategy, the higher price ticket, and looking for child-friendly films citing that the opening day of 2021 MMFF earned a third of the total box office gross of the online 2020 MMFF edition. He claimed that the film festival entries were able to surpass the Philippine domestic gross of Hollywood films such as Eternals and the No Time to Die.[22][23] By December 29, Ferrer said that the box office gross of the 2021 MMFF has already surpassed the earnings of the previous edition.[24] Ferrer stated the earnings of the 2020 MMFF to be less than ₱50 million.[25]
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