MMFF 2020 to continue, entries will be shown online

Despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is no canceling of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), although entries will not be shown on the big screen as it was before.

MMFF spokesperson Noel Ferrer announced in his Instagram account that the festival will go online, in partnership with a “worldwide streaming service” to ensure that “the biggest, the most popular and the longest-running Filipino film festival will be happening everywhere – recreating happy traditions, and experiencing MMFF beyond-the-movies – together with the whole family.” The streaming service partner is yet to be announced as of writing.

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The viewing for the MMFF films usually starts every December 25. Many Filipino families are flocking movie theaters to watch the movies as part of their Christmas Day celebration — but that was before many things shifted online due to the pandemic.

“Dahil sa ONLINE distribution – mas maraming Pilipino ang makakapanood ng mga pelikula -pero isang major na kunsiderasyon ang pag-iwas sa piracy na natugunan naman ng magiging partner ng MMFF (Since the distribution will be made online, there will be more Filipinos who can watch the movies. One major consideration was to avoid piracy, which has already been addressed by the MMFF’s partner),” Ferrer said.

Seeing how challenging it is to film during the pandemic, Ferrer announced that the deadline for the finished film submission was extended to November 15, while the deadline for the finished films based on the approved script was moved to November 30.

With this deadline extension, the MMFF spokesman said producers and filmmakers will have more time to polish their films.

“Tuloy ang Pasko at tuluy na tuloy ang MMFF ngayong Pasko (Christmas will continue and the MMFF will definitely push through on Christmas Day)!!!” Ferrer said.

The MMFF organizers earlier bared the list of its first lineup of movies for 2020. Included in the first batch of official entries are the horror film “Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan,” fantasy-adventure film “Magikland,” comedy film “Praybeyt Benjamin 3,” and comedy-horror film “The Exorcism of My Siszums.”

[READ: First batch of entries for this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival named]