51st MMFF announces first batch of entries
51st MMFF announces first batch of entries
Courtesy of MMDA
Four of the eight 51st Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entries were announced in the festival’s Grand Launch event last Tuesday, July 8, at Glorietta’s Palm Drive Activity Center in Makati City. Makati Mayor Nancy Binay confirmed that the city will serve as the festival’s host city. Mayor Binay was joined by Metropolitan Manila Development Association (MMDA) Chairman Atty. Romando Artes and members of the MMFF’s Executive Committee announced the first batch of Philippine films comprising the festival’s “Magic 8.”
The 51st MMFF’s first batch of films is a mix of familiar and new faces to the festival. Choosing from 23 submitted screenplays, the first 4 entries of the MMFF are comedy-drama ‘Call Me Mother,’ family drama ‘Rekonek,’ crime thriller ‘Manila’s Finest,’ and horror anthology ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins.’
Call Me Mother
‘Call Me Mother’ follows the battle of motherly affection for Angel between Twinkle and Mara. Queer single parent Twinkle is a few months shy of finalizing Angel’s legal adoption until Angel’s mother, Mara, shows up to reclaim Angel’s love. The dramedy is director Jun Robles Lana’s second film with MMFF mainstay Vice Ganda after last year’s ‘And the Breadwinner Is…’ Joining them to maximize their slay is Nadine Lustre, who has recently worked with Mikhail Red on ‘Nokturno’ and ‘Deleter,’ which bowed to ₱270M in 2022’s MMFF.
Lana himself is no stranger to the festival. Aside from ‘Breadwinner,’ he also brought ‘Becky & Badette,’ ‘Big Night,’ and ‘Die Beautiful’ to the festival. He is co-writing along with Daisy G. Cayanan (An Inconvenient Love, Vince & Kath & James) and Daniel S. Saniana (A Very Good Girl, Sila-Sila). Lana’s IdeaFirst Company is producing along with ABS-CBN Film Productions and Viva Communications.
Rekonek
Family drama ‘Rekonek’ sees six different stories of Filipinos navigating life without the internet during the holiday season. Reality MM Studios is producing, with Jade Castro seated in the director’s chair. The script is written by Jericho Aguado, Leovic Arceta, and Kat Nava, with a cast that includes Gerald Anderson, Carmina Villarroel, Zoren Legaspi, Gloria Diaz, and Alexa Miro. For real-life spouses Villarroel and Legaspi, this is their first film together since Legaspi directed the ‘Mamanyiika’ segment of ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll XII,’ which Villarroel starred in.
‘Rekonek’ is Castro’s first film at the festival. It caps a busy year for him that includes the release of Petersen Vargas’ ‘Some Nights I Feel Like Walking,’ which he produced, and post-production for the BL project ‘All the Things I Leave You,’ which he directed. Co-writer Aguado also worked on ‘Sosyal Climbers,’ and co-writers Arceta and Naval worked on last year’s MMFF entry ‘Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital,’ with Arceta co-writing and Naval as script assistant.
Manila’s Finest
‘Manila’s Finest’ sees Piolo Pascual leading another MMFF entry after 2023’s ‘Mallari,’ and other recent appearances in MMFF films ‘GomBurZa’ and ‘The Kingdom.’ Filmmaker Rae Red is directing this period crime thriller set during the civil unrest in the 1970s. Eventually becoming known as the First Quarter Storm, the film sees three policemen consumed by a troubling murder case in the slums, as class divisions become harder to ignore.
Rae recently wrote the script for her brother Mikhail’s ‘Nokturno,’ while directing projects like the miniseries ‘Roadkillers’ and the film ‘Tenement 66.’ Cignal TV is producing ‘Manila’s Finest,’ with the screenplay being written by frequent collaborators Michiko Yamamoto and Moira Lang (Norte, the End of History, Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings), who are joined by filmmaker Anthony Sherad Sanchez.
Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins
Likely one of the festival’s exciting comebacks is the fourth announced entry, ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins.’ Regal Entertainment's notable horror anthology series is the 17th film in the franchise after 2023’s ‘Shake Rattle and Roll Extreme,’ one of its two films that premiered outside of the MMFF. The three stories of ‘Evil Origins’ are set in three different periods. In 1775, four women fall victim to the dark force in a strange chest from a Spanish ship on their way to the convent. A Halloween party at an abandoned hotel in 2025 becomes ripe for picking victims for a killer who might not be human. An Aswang rules the Philippines in 2050, and a man named Hunter is about to find out how his family is connected to the chaos.
The anthology’s directors are Shugo Pracio (Nanahimik ang Gabi), Joey De Guzman returning as director after ‘Shake Rattle and Roll Extreme,’ and TV director Ian Loreños (Mano Po Legacy, The Iron Heart), with Alex Castor, Onay Sales (Shake, Rattle & Roll entries XII and Extreme), and Gina Marissa Tagasa writing the scripts. Its ensemble cast includes a mix of new and familiar faces like Ivana Alawi, Fyang Smith, Loisa Andallo, Ashley Ortega, Ysabel Ortega, Elijah Alejo, Carla Abellana, Manilyn Reynes, Janice de Belen, Francine Diaz, Kaila Estrada, Richard Gutierrez, Ryan Bang, Seth Fedelin, JM Ibarra, and Dustin Yu. Though its main cast and crew have been announced, their specific roles and contributions have yet to be confirmed.
What’s coming next
2025’s batch of MMFF films is back to showing 8 entries, after last year’s edition offered 10 entries. The second batch of entries, 4 films to be chosen from completed film submissions, will be announced on September 30.
The MMFF films will screen across Philippine cinemas during the Christmas-New Year’s period, when all international films are temporarily held off except in IMAX and 4DX screens. Traditionally, the festival showings begin on December 25, Christmas Day, accompanied by a Parade of Stars in the host city.
