THE STARS COME OUT FOR 50TH MMFF

THE OFFICIAL LINEUP FOR the 50th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is now complete with the announcement of the final five entries.

- By NATHALIE M. TOMADA

It's poised to be an even star-studded event with A-listers and former MMFF acting winners lending their star power to the films.

MMFF 50 and MMDA chairman, lawyer Romando Artes, noted that this year's edition drew a "record" number of submissions.

"We have mixed emotions. I'm happy because we received a record-breaking 70 submissions-39 scripts and 31 finished films. Makikita po natin yung passion ng mga taga-industriya na kahit mahirap ay patuloy gumagawa ng pelikula," he said.

"At the same time, I'm sad because out of the 31 finished film entries, we had to choose only five... We talked to the team earlier and they said that to be able to still give a venue to the films that are not able to participate in the 50th edition, we'll see if we can still mount another summer film festival." The summer filmfest edition was cancelled this year to direct energies and resources into the staging of the festival's 50th anniversary.

During the special announcement of the final five entries on Tuesday, different sectors from the industry expressed their full support.

Film Academy of the Philippines head Paolo Villaluna called on audiences to "support Philippine cinema and support the MMFF." "It's not just any festival. It's a festival of our shared spirit," he said.

Directors Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI) president Mark Meily, on the other hand, highlighted how the event coincides with two major milestones in the Philippine movie industry. That is the passage of two major laws that directly benefit the movie industry and its workers. These are the Philippine Creative Industries Act and the Eddie Garcia Act.