A big night for Big Night! at the 2021 MMFF awards

December 28, 2021

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CAST and crew of Big Night! at the 2021 MMFF awarding ceremony at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura — SCREENSHOT BY MICHELLE ANNE P. SOLIMAN

JUN Robles Lana’s dark comedy on innocent civilians getting caught up in the current drug war’s watchlists was the big winner in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), bagging a total of eight awards.

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is waning for now, the awarding ceremonies were held onsite this year at the Samsung Hall at SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig on Dec. 27. They were also streamed on Facebook.

Big Night! went home with eight awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Christian Bables, Best Supporting Actor for John Arcilla, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score, and the Gender Sensitivity Award.

The film centers on the gay beautician Dharna (played by Bables) whose name is mistakenly placed in the current drug war watchlist and how he stops at nothing to prove his innocence.

The film was recently screened at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Europe in Nov. 2021.

This is Mr. Bables’s second MMFF acting award having previously won the Best Supporting Actor trophy in 2016 for his work in Die Beautiful which was also directed by Jun Robles Lana.

“Ito ay inaalay ko para sa taong merong same situation na kagaya kay Dharna, people who are voiceless or oppressed (I offer this award to people who are in a situation similar as Dharna, people who are voiceless and oppressed). I may find it hard to express my thoughts and opinions in words. But let me fight for you and with you through my art,” Mr. Bables said in his acceptance speech.

Meanwhile, Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine) about a mother and son who struggle for survival after Typhoon Yolanda, won Second Best Picture of the festival. It also took several acting awards: Best Supporting Actress for Rans Rifol, Best Actress for Charo Santos, and the Special Jury Prize for Daniel Padilla.

The Third Best Picture was A Hard Day, the Philippine adaptation of the South Korean action thriller of the same title. The film also went home with trophies for Best Sound, Best Editing, and the FPJ Memorial Award.

A PANDEMIC FESTIVALAfter being held exclusively online last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s film festival returned to the cinemas, albeit with a number of restrictions ranging from the number of theaters allowed to participate and limitations on the number of audience members in each screening.

The film festival organizers remain hopeful and continue to encourage the public to support the local film industry.

“The mere fact na nandito tayo ngayon is still a victory for us sa ating pelikulang Pilipino (The mere fact that we’re here today is still a victory for us in Philippine cinema),” said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and MMFF concurrent Chairman Benhur Abalos in his opening speech. The MMDA is the festival organizer.

In a Facebook post, MMFF spokesperson Noel Ferrer wrote that despite a huge fall in the number of viewers compared to the festival’s non-pandemic years, this year’s festival did much better than last year’s.

The festival’s traditional opening day, Dec. 25, was the highest grossing day.

“In fact, the first day gross alone this year covered 1/3 of the total MMFF Online gross (in its entire run) last year,” Mr. Ferrer wrote. “With more people going to the cinemas by the day, sa first three to four days pa lang, puwede nang malampasan ang (it can surpass) total gross last year.”

Last year’s online film festival made less than P50 million, compared to the P995 million it earned in 2019.

The festival is ongoing until Jan. 7. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Best Picture: Big Night!

Second Best Picture: Kun Maupay Man It Panahon

Third Best Picture: A Hard Day

Best Director: Jun Robles Lana (Big Night!)

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Charo Santos (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon)

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Christian Bables (Big Night!)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: John Arcilla (Big Night!)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Rans Rifol (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon)

Best Screenplay: Big Night! (Jun Lana)

Best Cinematography: Big Night! (Carlo Canlas Mendoza)