MANILA, Philippines – The country’s top comedians Vic Sotto and Vice Ganda are breaking tradition in the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
Sotto, popularly known as “Bossing Vic,” will star in his first full-length drama film, while the “Unkabogable” Vice will be in his first dramedy. These are just two surprises in the 50th edition of the MMFF which starts on Christmas Day, December 25.
Festival organizers are aiming to beat last year’s record-setting edition which had a combined gross of P1.07 billion for all 10 films in the MMFF 2023.
Producers APT Entertainment, MQuest Ventures, and MZet released on Wednesday, October 22, the trailer of their entry, The Kingdom, which stars Sotto and Kapamilya heartthrob Piolo Pascual, in a drama-action film.
@mqventures Handa ka na bang makita ang Kaharian ng Kalayaan at kilalanin ang mga Malaya? Abangan ang grandest movie this 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival, The Kingdom. Pinangungunahan nina Vic Sotto at Piolo Pascual. Kasama rin sina Sue Ramirez, Sid Lucero at Cristine Reyes. A film by award-winning director, Michael Tuviera, DGPI. #TheKingdomMMFF2024 #MQuestVentures #MZETProductions #APTEntertainment
The Kingdom marks the 70-year-old “Bossing” Vic’s return to the Philppines’ biggest film festival after 5 years, as well as his first film casting with Pascual.
MMFF spokesperson Noel Ferrer noted during the MMFF’s announcement of the last five entries to the festival on Wednesday, October 22, that this was a “big gamble” for the film’s three producers.
“We wanted to present something new, something fresh to the moviegoing public na hindi lang nakasanayang si Bossing na ganun (a version of Bossing that the moviegoing public is not familiar with). We wanted to show a different facet of Bossing’s acting prowess,” said Jojo Oconer, representing the producers of The Kingdom.
Oconer said Sotto, one of the mainstays of the Philippines’ longest noon show, Eat Bulaga!, liked the script since it’s “pure drama.”
“There’s no hint of comedy, even for someone like Vic Sotto,” he said.
Since it’s not his comfort zone, Sotto had to prepare more for his role compared to his previous films.
“Naghanda talaga s’ya for the drama scenes because maraming eksena dito na medyo mabigat talaga. Hindi naman masyadong foreign to him kasi pag Lenten ng Eat Bulaga, nagdadrama sila. Pero first time nya ‘to ginawa sa isang full-length movie,” Oconer said.
(He really prepared for the drama scenes because there are many scenes that are heavy drama. It’s not really foreign to him because they do drama during Lenten season on Eat Bulaga. But it’s his first time to do this in a full-length movie.)
The movie also stars Cristine Reyes and Sue Ramirez, who are not playing sexy roles in the movie.
Oconer added that the fictional movie has a few fight scenes with Pascual, and Sotto brushed up on his battle moves with a Filipino martial arts instructor.
@mqventures Tuluy-tuloy ang paghahanda ni Vic Sotto para sa pinakabagong role na kanyang gagampanan! Abangan ang mga action scenes ni Bossing sa The Kingdom, an official entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival 2024! #TheKingdomMMFF2024 #MQuestVentures #MZETProductions #APTEntertainment 🎥: Instagram | @jericpantaleon ♬ original sound – MQuest Ventures
Sotto starred in 10 iterations of the fantasy action-comedy Enteng Kabisote, where he played the role of a superhero.
Vice’s ‘new movie era’
Meantime, after missing last year’s MMFF, Vice Ganda will be back for the 50th edition of the festival with his first dramedy, And The Breadwinner Is…. He had starred in many box-office hits in the MMFF which were all pure comedy films such as the Praybeyt Benjamin series, and Beauty and the Bestie.
Vice said on Wednesday that ABS-CBN and film director Jun Robles Lana both wanted to introduce “a Vice Ganda new movie era — eto raw yun (this is it). And The Breadwinner Is…”
The producers released a teaser of the film also on Wednesday.
The clip shows the long-time Kapamilya host of It’s Showtime as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Taiwan, who encounters the many hardships and disappointments that the Philippines’ “modern-day heroes” often have to deal with.
Lana, however, said that moviegoers will still get to see the comedian in his usual self.
“Maraming bago, maraming kakaiba, pero we also made sure na it’s still the same Vice, the Vice na minahal ng manonood natin, pero maraming bagong, maraming challenges na binigay kay Vice, nagpapasalamat ako na inembrace nya lahat ng pinagawa namin,” he said.
(There are many new things, many differences, but we also made sure that it’s still the same Vice, the Vice that the audience loves, but there are many new challenges we gave to Vice, and we’re thankful that he embraced all the things we asked him to do.)
Vice quipped that unlike his pure comedy films, And The Breadwiner Is… is his “most peaceful” work.
“Ito ung pinakapayapa na pelikula ko, walang nagaaway, walang nagagalit, walang direktor na sumisigaw, walang nagbabato ng upuan. Masaya lang lagi…sobrang galing ng grupo,” he said during the MMFF event. “Bago ‘yung pinapagawa, bagong konsepto. Hindi ko s‘ya comfort zone, pero mukha naman naitawid ko.”
(This is my most peaceful film, there’s no fighting, no one gets angry, there’s no director shouting, no one’s throwing chairs at each other. We’re all just happy always….It’s a very talented group. It’s a new task, new concept, it’s not my comfort zone, but I think I was able to pull through.)
And The Breadwinner Is… also stars comedian Eugene Domingo, Gladys Reyes, Maris Racal, Jong Hilario, among others.
“First time na malaki ‘yung part ng drama dun sa film,” Vice said last July. “Kasi usually comedy talaga s’ya. Parang 98% comedy, tapos ‘yung drama, may isang scene lang.”
(It’s the first time the drama part is big. Because usually, it’s pure comedy, like 98% comedy and the rest is drama, just one scene.)
MMFF as industry ‘lifeline’
These two out-of-the-box movies are examples of how Filipino film creators are trying to win over a new cinema audience, one that no longer wants run-of-the-mill movies after being exposed to higher quality films via streaming platforms during the pandemic and after.
That’s one of the lessons learned from the two previous editions of the MMFF.
In 2022, it was the Nadine Lustre psychological thriller, Deleter, helmed by young director Mikhail Red, which topped the box-office and dominated the MMFF awards, including Best Picture.
Star Cinema’s Partners in Crime, starring Vice Ganda and sexy star Ivana Alawi, had been expected to top the box-office in 2022, but was surprised by Deleter. It was a clear sign that the cinema audience had changed and wanted better films.
Whether these creative gambles will pay off with the new cinema audience remains to be seen. But the Philippine film industry badly needs to succeed with these new ventures as the film industry continues to lose theater audience to streaming platforms like Netflix.
Film producer Perci Intalan said on Wednesday that it’s not easy being a producer these days, with many movies doing badly when shown in theaters. This year, only two Filipino films out of over a hundred have done well at the box-office this year, according to Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chair Lala Sotto.
The only silver lining for the industry is the MMFF, when most Filipinos have money to spend during the Christmas season and when no foreign films are shown in theaters in the capital and most other cinemas throughout the country for at least two weeks.
“More than anything, sa MMFF, lagi sinasabi na ang MMFF ay tradisyon na, pero these days, hindi sya tradisyon, lifeline sya ng industrya. In these uncertain times, MMFF has become a beacon of hope for the industry, kasi nakikita natin na may audience,” Intalan said.
He said many had thought that there was no longer any hope for the industry, only to be proven wrong by the record-breaking MMFF in 2023.
Star Cinema’s Rewind led the festival’s box-office record-breaking year with ticket sales of over P900 million. Many cinema-goers had been been excited for the comeback film of real-life Kapuso couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, and the gamble paid off with the family tearjerker.
“So, kita natin, last year, sa MMFF, it was the biggest of them all, [which] is a sign to the whole industry na hindi, buhay, buhay na buhay, kailangan lang talagang bigyan ng dahilan, bigyan ng event para ma-excite ulit ang tao. And the MMFF is that,” Intalan said.
(So, we saw last year in the MMFF, it was the biggest of them all, which is a sign to the whole industry that, no, the industry is alive, we just need to give a reason, to give it an event so that people will become excited again, and the MMFF is that.)
He added that the MMFF is “encouraging all of us to bring out our best, to do our best to bring out something new, to excite the audience again.”
Actor Joel Saracho, representing the Philippine Theater Actors Guild, said on Wednesday that there are now many new producers and directors adept with new technologies and ways of telling stories. What they all need is a bigger audience.
“Marami na po tayong bagong players — mga batang direktor, DOP [Directors of Photography], batang production designer players, manunulat na patuloy na tumutuklas ng bagong pamamaraan para ikuwento ang danas ng Pilipino. Ang kailangan na lang natin, ibalik yung manunood,” he said.
(We have many new players in the industry — young directors, young DOPs, young production designer players, writers who are discovering new ways of storytelling of what the Filipino people are going through. What we only need now is for the audience to return to theaters.)
There were 70 entries screened by the MMFF, of which ten were chosen. It’s the biggest number of entries to the MMFF yet.
Saracho expressed hope that the MMFF will be able to help bring another “golden age of Philippine cinema,” referring to the industry’s glory years in the fifties to the seventies when large cinemas would be packed with people.
The eight other entries in the MMFF 2024 are:
- Green Bones
- Strange Frequencies: Haunted Hospital
- Himala, Isang Musikal
- My Future You
- Uninvited
- Topakk
- Hold Me Close
- Espantaho
Rappler will be writing about these eight other films in the run up to the MMFF 2024. – Rappler.com
