Naalala ko pa noon na hinihintay-hintay namin ang Metromanila Film Festival. Hindi pa rin nagbabago ang popularidad nito.
Ito ang balita.
It may not be the Rose Bowl or Disneyland's Main Street parades, but it has become an annual tradition in local show biz.
On Christmas Eve, while the rest of the city prepared for the noche buena and Midnight Mass, the Metro Manila Film Festival's Parade of Stars, now on its 33rd year, gathered the local entertainment industry's brightest stars.
There were also the scene-stealing crowd pleasers, like a fake Pope played by bit player Rey Bayona and rock icon Pepe Smith.
The "Pope" and Pepe rode the "Banal" float, together with a real-life SWAT (special weapons and tactics) team and actors Christopher de Leon, Alfred Vargas, Paolo Contis and Paolo Paraiso. It was the first MMFF parade for both the Pope and Pepe.
As expected, the star of "Enteng Kabisote 4," Vic Sotto, simply clad in red T-shirt, elicited the loudest cheers from the crowd gathered in front of the Shrine of Jesus church and the SMX Convention Center.
Sen. Bong Revilla, in full futuristic warrior costume, led his movie's youthful cast on the "Resiklo" float, which hewed closely to the film's "recycled robots" theme. According to Andrea Bautista-Ynares, Imus producer and Revilla's sister, the float cost almost P500,000.
The "Banal" float, which boasts a faux police helicopter, cost roughly P300,000. "We got a good discount," said Ina Alegre of ComGuild, producer of "Banal."
"Up for grabs were cash prizes for Best Float, said Ric Camaligan, chair of the MMFF parade committee. "The first placer gets P500,000; second place, P300,000; and third place, P100,000," explained Camaligan. "Top prize will go to the float that best depicts the movie's theme and the one with the most impact on the public."
Best float went to "Resiklo," while second place was awarded to "Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo." Third place was "Bahay Kubo."
Lily Monteverde of Regal Entertainment, producer of "Bahay Kubo" said the movie's float only cost P250,000. "It's a simple nipa hut. Very Pinoy," she said. "Bahay" could have won the top prize but its lead stars Maricel Soriano and Eric Quizon were no-shows, costing it valuable points, explained Camaligan.
Conspicuously absent was Manny Pacquiao, producer and star of "Anak ng Kumander."
Learning from past film festivals, the parade route was considerably shortened this year, said Camaligan.
"Last year, we covered 26 kilometers. We started at the Quezon City Circle and ended at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex. This year, the parade began at the SM Mall of Asia and ended at the Quirino Grandstand, via Roxas Boulevard. That's roughly eight to nine kilometers," Camaligan noted.
The festival committee decided on a shorter parade to prevent problems encountered in the past.
"Last year, the float of ‘Zsazsa Zaturnnah' overheated, while the float of ‘Super Noypi' ran out of gas," Camaligan recalled.
He related that some stars had to go down the floats, midway during the parade, to answer the call of nature. "That caused delays," he pointed out. "We've learned from past mistakes."
In spite of the hassles, stars seem to look forward to the annual parade.
"It'll be a long day for us," said Vargas, "Banal" star. "But the parade seems more organized this year."
He said he was always excited to attend the parade. "This is my chance to personally greet our fans."
"I don't mind the hassles for as long as I get to see the smiles on the faces of our fans," agreed Judy Ann Santos, star of "Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo," sequel to last year's top grosser, "Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo."
"It feels great to be able to touch the hearts and lives of Pinoys this Christmas season," concurred Ryan Agoncillo, Santos' leading man in "Sakal" and real-life boyfriend.
"This is really for the Pinoy masses to enjoy," said Lorna Tolentino, who plays an overseas Filipino worker's wife in "Katas ng Saudi."
"Apart from helping us promote our movies, it helps us reconnect with our fans and friends in show business. This parade allows us to give back to the movie industry," said Revilla, "Resiklo" star. "Since I'm on break from the Senate, I can spend time with my colleagues from the movie industry."
"This is our chance to get together," said Gina Pareño, Santos' co-star in "Sakal."
For Pareño, Santos and Agoncillo, the parade was like deja vu. "We were together last year. I hope we will be together again next year," Pareño quipped.
For Vargas, it is his third film fest parade. "Every year, my films get good reviews and positive ratings from the Cinema Evaluation Board."
Vargas' co-star, Christopher de Leon, said he had lost count of the number of festivals he joined in the past. "I've had film fest entries since the 1970s," De Leon said.
He did not mind the long hours spent under the sun, he insisted. "It helps me get a good tan," he joked.
Turning serious, he noted that the film fest "is for the small people of the movie industry."
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