The awards night for the first-ever Summer Metro Manila Film Festival has been set for tonight, April 11, 2023. 

Part of the eight-film lineup are: Brillante Mendoza’s Apag, Chris Martinez’s Here Comes the Groom, RC delos Reyes’s Unravel: A Swiss Side Love Story, Fifth Solomon’s Single Bells, JP Habac’s Love You Long Time, Jun Robles Lana’s About Us, Not About Us, Joven Tan’s Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko: The Music of Rey Valera, and Bela Padilla’s Yung Libro Sa Napanuod Ko.

READ: Pelikula ni Coco Martin, Gerald Anderson at iba pa pasok sa top 8 official entries ng summer MMFF

The summer version of the festival follows the same practices as its Christmas counterpart. It kicked off with the Parade of Stars last April 2, 2023 where floats from the eight participating entries drove down the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue up to the Quezon Memorial Circle. 

This April 11, 2023, will be the awards night or the Gabi ng Parangal which will be held at the New Frontier Theatre in Quezon City. 

No less than the internationally-acclaimed actress Dolly de Leon will be serving as chairperson of the jury. 

Dolly has been an industry veteran for many years now, with notable performances in Raymund Ribay Gutierrez’s Verdict and Lav Diaz’s Historya ni Ha. She gained worldwide recognition for her work in the Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness, which earned her acclaim as the first Filipino actor to be nominated at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) and the Golden Globe Awards. She was honored at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and was also present at the Oscars. 

The Metro Manila Film Festival’s executive committee has likewise hailed “Dolly Earnshaw de Leon’s excellence and integrity as an artist and as a person”. 

“Miss Dolly de Leon will head a group of very credible jury members who will be named along with the winners at the Gabi Ng Parangal,” announced MMFF spokesperson Noel Ferrer. 

The list of nominees, as published in the MMFF official social media pages, are as follows: 

Best Float

1. About Us But Not About Us
2. Apag
3. Here Comes the Groom
4. Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko
5. Love You Long Time
6. Singlebells
7. Unravel: A Swiss Side Love Story
8. Yung Libro Sa Napanuod Ko

Best Original Theme Song

1. “Paralaya” by Andy Alviz (Apag)

Best Production Design

1. About Us But Not About Us
2. Here Comes the Groom
3. Unravel: A Swiss Side Love Story
4. Yung Libro Sa Napanuod Ko

Best Musical Score

1. About Us But Not About Us
2. Love You Long Time
3. Unravel: A Swiss Side Love Story
4. Yung Libro Sa Napanuod Ko

Best Editing

1. About Us But Not About Us
2. Here Comes the Groom
3. Love You Long Time
4. Yung Libro Sa Napanuod Ko

Aside from the festival’s primary intention to promote the preservation of Philippine cinema, the summer edition is also a means of supporting the local film industry especially after the effects of the pandemic. 

Catch the Gabi ng Parangal tonight at 8 pm telecast on OnePH, with a delayed telecast on TV5 at 10:45 pm. 

You can also still watch all eight participating films from April 8 to 18, 2023, in cinemas nationwide.