Movie fans are encouraged to watch all eight entries of the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) and to share reviews on social media and ask more theaters to show these films. This call was voiced by filmmakers behind Sunday Beauty Queen, Saving Sally, Oro and Kabisera along with MMFF leaders Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo, Ed Cabagnot, Moira Lee, MMFF Selection Committee’s Nic Tiongson, Krip Yuson and Mae Paner, Quezon City Congressman Alfred Vargas’ representative Noel Ferrer—at two sessions of the “Pandesal Forum” with media at 77-year-old, artisanal Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City.
Apart from the support of Kamuning Bakery Café for the 2016 MMFF, the senior citizens association of Quezon City’s oldest Barangay Kamuning offered a “surprise Christmas gift” to express support for the film Sunday Beauty Queen, for all OFWs worldwide and for the 2016 MMFF by singing Christmas carols wearing traditional Filipiniana attire at the Dec. 20 Pandesal Forum with Cabagnot, Paner, Sunday Beauty Queen director Babyruth Villarama, OFW domestic helper from Hong Kong Mylyn Jacobo, TBA producer Vincent Nebrida, and others. Villarama became teary-eyed and OFW Jacobo turned emotional during the senior citizens’ medley of Filipino and Western songs.
Sunday Beauty Queen is the first ever documentary film to join the MMFF. Rated G for general patronage by the MTRCB, it was also graded “A” by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) unanimously by all 10 CEB reviewers. It’s one of the film entries in the 2016 MMFF that may not make it to a third day of screening.
For the first time, the 2016 MMFF jurors include officials of prestigious international film festivals – Paolo Bertolin of the Venice International Film Festival and Philip Cheah of the Singapore International Film Festival. They shall join other jurors like actor John Lloyd Cruz. Cabagnot who said Batangas Congresswoman Vilma Santos Recto had begged off.