Commercial films were heavily ignored at the Gabi Ng Parangal held at the Kia Theatre on Wednesday night as Culturtain Musicat’s Ang Larawan was adjudged Metro Manila Film Festival Best Picture, while Paul Soriano’s romantic island flick Siargao walked home as the most decorated entry.
Based upon A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino by National Artist Nick Joaquin, the film set in 1941 just before World War II in a mansion in Intramuros, Manila, edged out Dan Villegas’s All of You (3rd Best Picture) and Soriano’s Siargao (2nd Best Picture).
The filmfest also did a turnaround with Ang Larawan, which initially failed to make the cut in July when the criteria were based solely on scripts submitted to be an MMFF entry, earned a total of five awards, including the prestigious Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Joanna Ampil, Best Musical Score, and Best Production Design.
It was a bitter sweet victory for the cast and crew of the musical as it struggles to stay in cinemas, having been dropped from more than 25 theaters across Metro Manila, just two days into the film fest, due to reported low ticket sales.
According to its producer Celeste Lagaspi, they have been “slowly” regaining screens as of Wednesday thanks to fan outcry and positive reviews.
“And we are thankful to Paul Soriano who has been tweeting about our film. We are happy that as of today we are back in some cinemas,” Legaspi said.
Paul Soriano, who won the Best Director plum, during his acceptance speech, shared the honor with Ang Larawan citing it as a beautiful film.
“There’s this film that really touched my heart and I know what it’s going through, and I know Ang Larawan, you guys…seriously, hands down. I watched it yesterday in a full house in Rockwell,” Soriano started, then turning to the crowd he said, “I hope you also give the opportunity to see such a beautiful film. Against the world, that’s kind of what we do.”
Apart from bagging the 2nd Best Picture award, Soriano’s film won Best Supporting Actress (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Theme Song (“Alon” by Hale).
“If there’s one thing that this festival has really thought me, it’s my first time to be part of MMFF, is that that not everybody is going to like what you made, not everyone is going to appreciate what you do, but there are people that get what I really wanted to say. And because of those people I continue to tell stories, I continue make films because this is what I love to do,” he told the crowd at the Kia Theatre.
Other winners were: Best Float – Deadma Walking; Best Child Performer – Baeby Baste Granfon for Meant To Beh; Fernando Poe Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence – Ang Panday; Best Visual Effects – Ang Panday; Best Screenplay – All Of You; Best Supporting Actor – Edgar Allan Guzman for Deadma Walking; Full-length People’s Choice Award – Gandarrapido: The Revenger Squad; Best Actor – Derek Ramsay for All Of You; an dSpecial Jury Prize – Nick Joaquin and Rodel Nacianceno (Coco Martin)
