MMFF turns 50, forgoes summer event for big Christmas fete

The number of movie entries in this year’s edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) will be dependent on whether or not there will be enough noteworthy submissions and if there will be sufficient number of cinemas all over the country to screen them, according to Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Romando “Don” Artes.

The MMDA is the organizer of the annual movie fete, which featured 10 film entries for its 2023 run.

The agency has also promised to coordinate with the Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy Council and the Department of Information and Technology “to minimize, if not prevent, piracy,” especially during the festival run, which begins on Christmas Day, Artes added.

“For 2024, our target is eight. This is because the playdate committee reported to have had a difficult time balancing the number of cinemas per entry last year. But if the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP) will add more theaters, we will decide if we can have more entries,” Artes told reporters during a recent media gathering held at the MMDA offices in Ortigas.

The MMFF will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Artes said its organizers decided to forgo the Summer MMFF usually held in April to prepare for a huge celebration in December. “As to how big this will be, we earned P1.2 billion last year, including the extended screenings. If this would be our basis, then we have to exceed it,” he began.

“We’re hoping producers will submit movies that will eventually become hits in order to reach this goal. We’re also hoping for CEAP’s commitment to provide more cinemas this year. In terms of promotions, the MMDA allowed in 2023 the use of lamp posts along Edsa to promote the MMFF through posters and tarpaulins. This year, we will also allow the use of some 3,000 lamp posts along C5, Commonwealth and Roxas Boulevard for their promotion,” Artes declared.

Submission dates

Deadline for the submission of a letter of intent to join the festival is on May 15; while the submission of scripts will be on June 14, and submission of finished film entries on Sept. 30. The MMFF selection committee will announce the first four entries (based on scripts) on July 1, and the last four finished entries on Oct. 15.

Asked for his assessment of last year’s event, Artes enumerated three factors to its success. “First is that, because we didn’t have a family-oriented film in the lineup, the audience demographics have changed. Viewers were mostly from the higher class and not from the masses. The good thing about this was that they were able to afford to watch not just one, but as much as five entries. This means the MMFF is also marketable to this kind of moviegoers,” he pointed out. “For the festival to be more successful, instead of catering only to this market segment, it’s better if we also offer family-oriented films in order to increase sales.”

Increase in audience

Another change that resulted in a significant increase in audience is related to movie screening schedules. “We’ve decided to allow cinemas to extend screening hours and to show entries that are not originally assigned to them. For example, after the regular screenings of Movie A, we gave permission to operators to show Movie B. This helped, especially the movies with high demand, because we were able to cater to moviegoers without removing the film entry that was originally assigned to particular cinemas,” he added. “We can safely say that no film suffered from the ‘first-day, last-day’ syndrome. Their screenings may be limited, but they were not completely removed from the theater lineup.”

Another factor that contributed to the 2023 MMFF’s success was the diligence of producers and artists to promote their films, Artes added. “In the past years, the actors would all be gone after the parade and would simply return on the 27th for the awards night. This time, I saw some of them visiting the malls, even after Christmas, to sell tickets. This effort made the difference,” said the MMDA chief.

This year’s host city is Manila, headed by its Mayor Honey Lacuna, who was also present at the press conference. “This is very important to us because, historically, the festival started in Manila 50 years ago with the Manila Film Festival. We want to capitalize on Manila being a historical and cultural hub. Also, the Metropolitan Theater was the venue of the very first awards night. It is only fitting that the ceremony this year will be held there, too,” Lacuna declared.

Incidentally, the first Manila International Film Festival (MIFF), held in Los Angeles, California, in January, was a success, Artes declared.

“Many of our kababayan came to watch, even though the screenings were held on weekdays. In fact, two films had to extend screenings to accommodate requests. Also, the venue of the awards night was jam-packed. Some guests had to be turned down. We saw that there was interest in our kababayans to watch Filipino movies, despite limited promotions,” said Artes. “We expect that the next edition will be bigger. We plan to tell producers to present plans for promo in relation to the MIFF.” INQ