Why the Metro Filmfest is hounded by controversies

The Metro Manila Film Festival’s Gabi ng Parangal may spell as much excitement as the Urian, Star, FAMAS and Film Academy Awards, but it is different from other awards races. To begin with, the contenders here are limited only to festival entries. The more significant difference is that the losers in the Urian, Star, FAMAS and FAP just go home and sulk. In the Metro Filmfest, people who fail to win prizes go to town and denounce the organizers. (They swear never to join the MMFF again, but they’re back in the race every year).You see, it’s not only pride and recognition that is at stake here. There’s also the prize money. More importantly, winning awards often translates into box office receipts. (This the reason why the awards night is held three days after opening day – to draw the attention of the paying crowd to the really worthy festival films.)

But although money is the root of all evil, greed is not always the reason why this film festival is hounded practically every year by controversies. Since this is an activity that blends showbiz and political cultures – a lethal combination – it shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore that problems erupt as early as the launching of the annual project during the year’s third quarter.

On its third year in 1977, the awards – won mostly by Burlesque Queen, were recalled by the organizer, then called the Metro Manila Commission, over some minor furor. I wouldn’t want to elaborate on this scandal anymore because most of the personages involved in the issue have long passed on to the other world. It’s not even clear to this day, in fact, if that recall was official because no trophies were returned and the festival’s annual souvenir program (at least the last time I saw one) still carries Burlesque Queen in its honor roll.

The following year, the organizing committee didn’t have anything to do with the issues that hounded the festival, but it was controversial just the same. Showbiz observers still know the story. A few days before the awards night (held on the last day of the filmfest – Jan. 3), Inday Badiday invited a group of psychics to her talk show and since Vilma Santos was the celebrity guest, everyone predicted (either they were just being polite to Vilma or didn’t know the business of fortune-telling, I can’t say) that Ms. Santos – for Rubia Servios – was the sure winner for Best Performer (there was only one acting category that year). As a tearful but triumphant Nora Aunor said during her acceptance speech," Mama, mali ang hula nila!"

The Metro Film Festival took a long break from controversies in the early ’80s. Ugly talks (there were just a few) came mostly from sore losers – but that was to be expected. And yes, there were years during this period when the critics and even the public didn’t agree with the results of the winners. (It was really just a matter of taste on the part of the judges, but they can’t be sued for that, can they?)

When Corazon Aquino took over as President in 1986, culture – and this included film – was not among the priorities of her administration. This reflected in the low turnout of quality movies that year, and as a result, the entries to the film festival were not particularly outstanding. The board of judges, in fact, refused to give the Best Picture trophy during the awards night.

The quality of festival entries improved toward the mid-’90s, but dipped again in the subsequent years. With the inclusion of Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Rizal in 1998, however, the MMFF regained its full festival flavor – save for the fact that there weren’t that many superstars joining the filmfest. There was a year, in fact, when the organizing committee didn’t hit its financial target.

Last year, the major controversy was about Bagong Buwan (another Abaya movie) losing to what was perceived as a lightweight film, The Yamashita Treasure. And it didn’t help that Bagong Buwan star Cesar Montano made that nasty speech about them buying a trophy in Recto when he accepted his award for Best Actor.

Bagong Buwan may be a better movie than Yamashita (The Best Picture for me in that race is Hubog which only placed third), but I’m not about to question the jury’s decision. Bagong Buwan is definitely more significant but it is one long preachy movie about Muslim affairs. Maybe the judges got bored with it and refused to give it the top prize.

Actually, I know for a fact that there is no hanky-panky in the final judging of the festival entries – at least none that I know of. (I sat in that board for a long time.)

Unfortunately, I can’t speak for the selection committee (the group that chooses the entires that will compete in the festival) because I’ve never been part of that board. Now, I am not saying that there are anomalies there. But like in the final judging, the process of selecting the filmfest entries is also bounded by intrigues. Last year, for instance, the number of the Magic 6 was "magically" (and I’m not saying this with malice) increased to 7 entries and people talked (and that was with malice) about how the selection committee bended all the rules in the book to accommodate Mikey Arroyo’s entry.

This year, the decision of the selection committee to increase the number of entries to nine became a bigger issue. Supposedly, there are only slots for seven entries. The selection committee, however, decided to include the occupants of slots eight and nine (Lastikman and Spirit Warriors) in the festival – but with the two films opening only on Jan. 1, a week after the filmfest’s official opening day, Dec. 25.

I thought this was a brilliant decision. Entries that don’t do well in the box office, after all, are pulled out of the theaters after one week – with the cinemas assigned to them taken over by the top grossing films. However, the stars and producers of the first seven entries don’t necessarily agree and even treatened to stage a boycott last week. (Obviously, they all believe that they will be top-grossers.)

Mercifully, everything has been ironed out – with the other entries agreeing (reluctantly?) to accommodate Lastikman and Spirit Warriors into the festival. Now, there are nine entries – but still with the last two opening on New Year.

This little battle (although it could have erupted into a major one) fought by the producers of this year’s festival entries is an indication of hard times. You see, during the time of the old Manila Film Festival, there were as many as 12 entries (to think that there very few theaters then).

The MMFF, in fact, had 10 entries in the beginning, but later reduced to eight. The number only decreased to six in 1986 to give the official entries more profits at the box office.

Now, that little quarrel over the inclusion of the last two entries wasn’t very nice. But I don’t blame the first seven entries of this year’s filmfest for guarding their territories like Yamashita’s treasures. With the high cost of production, the producers will kill for good theaters and as many as they can get. Again, that’s not very nice. But given the financial crisis we’re all going through at the moment, let’s just try to understand, why they’re all scrambling for their piece of the pie.

This year’s Metro Manila Film Festival kicks off with the Parade of Stars next week, Dec. 24. Good luck to the seven entries, er, nine.