Metro Manila Film Festival announces first set of official entries for 2023
The first batch of official entries for this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival is out.
The MMFF announced its first four official films for its 49th edition in a Facebook post on Monday, July 10, starting with drama A Mother and Son’s Story starring Sharon Cuneta and Alden Richards—with Nuel Naval as director.
Also included in the list is K(Ampon) starring Beauty Gonzales and Derek Ramsay, directed by King Palisoc. The horror thriller was written by Dodo Dayao.
Fantasy action movie Penduko starring Matteo Guidicelli and Cristine Reyes was also announced as an official entry for the upcoming festival. It will be directed by Jason Paul Laxamana.
ABS-CBN Film Productions’ Rewind also made the cut. Starring Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes, the romance drama offering will be directed by Mae Cruz-Alviar.
The MMFF received a total of 26 scripts from 32 production companies this year. In 2022, it got 22 submissions.
The selection committee is headed by film producer Jesse Ejercito. The top scripts will be selected based on the following criteria: artistic excellence (40%), commercial appeal (40%), Filipino cultural sensibility (10%), and global appeal (10%).
The remaining four official entries will come from the completed film submissions, which have a Sept. 29 deadline.
The 49th MMFF will take place from December 2023 to January 2024.