LIST: The 2024 Manila International Film Festival winners
Firefly won big at the first-ever Manila International Film Awards held on Saturday, Feb. 3 (Philippine time).
Aiming to spotlight Filipino films in the Hollywood scene, the MIFF held its inaugural ceremony from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Los Angeles, USA.
Firefly emerged as the biggest winner of the night, bagging four awards including Best Screenplay and Best Picture. The film’s star Alessandra de Rossi bagged the Best Supporting Actress award, while its director Zig Dulay was named this year’s Best Director.
Historical film GomBurZa bagged three awards, while Rewind, which recently became the first Filipino film to cross the P900 million mark at the box office, bagged two awards.
Here's the full list of winners:
- Best Actors - Dingdong Dantes (Rewind); Piolo Pascual (Mallari)
- Best Actress - Vilma Santos (When I Met You In Tokyo)
- Best Supporting Actress - Alessandra de Rossi (Firefly)
- Best Supporting Actor - Pepe Herrera (Rewind)
- Best Director - Zig Dulay (Firefly)
- Best Cinematographer - Carlo Mendoza (GomBurZa)
- Best Screenplay - Angeli Atienza (Firefly)
- Best Picture - Firefly – 1st Best Picture; GomBurZa - 2nd Best Picture
- Special Jury Prize - Becky and Badette
- Audience Choice Award - GomBurZa
- Trailblazer Awards - Mark Dacascos, Atty Romando Artes, and Rochelle Ona
- Lifetime Achievement Award - Hilda Koronel
The films were judged by accomplished Filipino Americans in the film industry, namely Marie Jamora, one of the first Filipinos in the Directors Guild of America (DGA); Mari Acevedo, CEO of Birns & Sawyer; Leah Anova, a director of photography; Reggie Lee, a TV, film, and Broadway actor; David Maquiling, academic and artistic director of the School of Cinematic Arts Summer Program at the University of Southern California; and Sumalee Montano, a television and film actress.
Other celebrities who graced the MIFF awards night include Janella Salvador, Eugene Domingo, John Arcilla, Christian Bables, Piolo Pascual, and Alden Richards, among others.