Christmas season is also MMFF season, and beginning December 25, the 41st edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival runs in theaters nationwide, offering 8 full-length official feature films to choose from, as well as 15 entries in the New Wave Section of the festival.
The annual film festival has already become a holiday tradition among the Filipinos, with the film festival entries screened at all cinemas across the country. Don't know which MMFF movie to watch? Here's a list of all the entries in this edition of The Click List.
1. What it's about: It's a star-studded rom-com by Star Cinema featuring different storylines and pairings to show the many kinds of love.
Starring: Kris Aquino, Derek Ramsay, Kim Chiu, Xian Lim, Jodi Sta. Maria, Ian Veneracion
Directed by: Antoinette Jadaone
2. What it's about: A comedy gets a dose of action in this film from Star Cinema and Viva Films about a cop reuniting with his cross-dressing best friend to complete a mission.
Starring: Vice Ganda, Coco Martin, James Reid
Directed by: Wenn V. Deramas
3. What it's about: This horror flick is about a mysterious shop selling items to different customers desperate for a quick fix for their problems in life. Everything works magically just as the shop owner says they would, until the rules of their contracts are broken.
Starring: Vhong Navarro, John Lapus, Alex Gonzaga, TJ Trinidad
Directed by: Randolph Longjas
4. What it's about: A group of students hold a retreat in an old mansion, and one of them happens to have a gift of seeing ghosts.
Starring: Janella Salvador, Marlo Mortel, Janice De Belen, Iza Calzado
Directed by: Jun Lana
5. What it's about: This crime thriller premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, and is about a family caught in financial ruin after an investment scam.
Starring: John Lloyd Cruz, Meryll Soriano, Khalil Ramos
Directed by: Erik Matti
6. What it's about: A nerdy boy falls in love with a girl, and getting in the way of their blossoming relationship are each other's controlling parent figures who have their own issues.
Starring: Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza, Vic Sotto, Ai-Ai de las Alas
Directed by: Jose Javier Reyes
7. Nilalang
What it's about: A supernatural thriller where an investigator teams up with an heiress from Tokyo's criminal underworld yakuza to solve a series of unusual killings in Manila.
Starring: Cesar Montano, Maria Ozawa
Directed by: Pedring Lopez
8. What it's about: A rom-com that deals with the concept of an everlasting love. A writer for romantic comedy films starts to doubt the concept of 'forever' after a heartbreak, and things become even more complicated as her past returns into her life.
Starring: Jennylyn Mercado, Jericho Rosales, Lorna Tolentino
Directed by: Dan Villegas
MMFF New Wave Section
The 15 indie films will be screened from December 17 to December 24 at Glorietta 4, SM Megamall and Robinsons Place Manila.
Finalists for Full Feature:
1. Mandirigma by Arlyn dela Cruz
2. Toto by John Paul Su
3. ARI: My Life with a King by Carlo Encisco
4. Turo-Turo by Ray An Dulay
5. Tandem by King Palisoc
Finalists for Animation:
- 8 by Johanna Kaye Boncodin
- Marvino's League of Superheroes by Ja Marti Escandor
- GEO by John Aurthur Mercader
- Little Lights by Rivelle Mallari
- Buttons by Marvel Obemio, Francis Ramirez, and Jared Garcia
Finalists for Short Film:
- Ding Mangasyas (Tough Guys) by Justine Emmanuel Dizon
- Lapis by Cariaga
- MUMU by Jean Cheryl Tagyamon
- Momento by Jan-Kyle Nieva
- Daisy by Bryan Reyes
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For more information, visit the MMDA website (www.mmda.gov.ph), like MMFF on Facebook (/metromanilafilmfest) and follow on Twitter (@mmfilmfest).
