MANILA, Philippines – The "Gabi ng Parangal" of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) was successfully held on Friday evening, December 27, at Solaire Resort in Parañaque City.
Almost all of the 10 entries in the MMFF 2024 received awards, with "Green Bones" by GMA Pictures and GMA Public Affairs sweeping the most accolades and being named "Best Picture."
SEE ALSO: FULL LIST: Winners, MMFF 2024 awards night
The box office hit and reported number one film, "And The Breadwinner Is..." by Star Cinema, ABS-CBN Studios, and Idea First Company, received the "Gender Sensitivity Award."
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| Photo courtesy: Screenshot from Facebook/MMFF |
Its lead star, the Unkabogable Star Vice Ganda, who returns to the MMFF with a comedy-drama film this time, received the "Special Jury Citation" award.
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The Unkabogable Star was pleased with the recognition but couldn't resist poking fun at the MMFF, jokingly asking what the award was all about.
The surprise was evident on Vice's face when presenters Dennis Trillo and Lorna Tolentino called his name.
Upon stepping onto the stage at the Solaire Grand Ballroom, Vice didn't immediately give a speech.
Instead, he shared that he had asked director Jun Lana and co-star Eugene Domingo what the award was for.
He explained that he couldn't figure out if the Special Jury Citation was for being best dressed or best performance.
“Magandang gabi ho ulit, maraming salamat,” panimula ni Vice.
“Pagtayo ko tinatanong ko si Direk Jun saka si Uge, ‘Ano ba ‘tong award na ‘to?’ Special jury citation, for what? For best dressed of the night? Special jury citation for best performance, gano’n ba ‘yon? So, salamat po,” natatawang sabi ni Vice na ikinatawa na rin ng audience.
“Seriously, hindi ko talaga alam. Magtatanga-tangahan ako, ayoko namang magpasalamat dito na hindi ko naman naiintindihan ‘yong award…”
At this point, Lorna interrupted and said that she and Dennis would read the explanation for Vice's award.
The explanation for the award was written on Dennis and Lorna's cue card, but it wasn't read before Vice was called.
It was then clarified that Vice's exceptional performance in the film was what the MMFF 2024 judges recognized.
Vice expressed his gratitude, noting that this was the first time he won an award at the MMFF despite starring in numerous previous film festivals.
He sincerely thanked the judges for acknowledging his acting.
He also dedicated the award to his co-cast members in the film, to ABS-CBN for trusting him despite the many challenges it faced after losing its franchise, to his mother, and to his husband, Ion Perez.
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express
