Lessons from MMFF 2025

People are saying lots of things for and against the recently held Metro Manila Film Festival 2025, the 51st edition of this long-held cultural tradition.

- MOVIEGOER NESTOR CUARTERO

While the eight official entries are generally worth viewing, a few of them promising to become classics, it’s also being maligned as a flop-fest, box office-wise.

A reputable source tells me the film fest stands to make P700 million at the end of its two-week run. The targeted amount, however, pales in comparison to the gross receipts of previous festivals. MMFF has been extended to Jan. 14.

Here are some more notes and observations in wrapping up MMFF 2025:

Some people are saying Krystel Go’s win for Best Actress in I’m Perfect was a sympathy vote. I beg to disagree. I thought the newbie actress in her first film ever did more than justice to her character. She invested it with true-to-life nuances. You could sense she was totally committed to the role, that of a girl with Down Syndrome trying to live a normal life.