First batch of entries for this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival named

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Although it remains unknown when moviegoers can finally visit cinemas that were forced to close due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, organizers of Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) bared the list of its first lineup of movies for this year.

The MMFF, on Friday, July 17, revealed that the first batch of official entries is composed of the horror film “Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan,” fantasy-adventure film “Magikland,” comedy film “Praybeyt Benjamin 3,” and comedy-horror film with a working title of “The Exorcism of My Siszums.”

Actor Joshua Garcia will star in “Ang Mga Kaibigan Ni Mama Susan,” a film based on a book of the same name written by Bob Ong. This will be produced by Regal Entertainment, Inc., with Chito Roño as the director and Ong himself being the scriptwriter. This is the third time that Ong’s books were turned into films, following “ABNKKBSNPLAko?!” in 2014 and “Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin” in 2016.

[READ: More Joshua Garcia in the big screen as he stars in “Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan”]

Brightlight Leisure Productions, Inc., and Gallaga Reyes Films, meanwhile, will produce “Magikland” to be helmed by Christian Acuna. Actors Jun Urbano, Migs Cuaderno, Joshua Eugenio, Jamir Zabarte, Dwight Gaston, Bibeth Orteza, Elijah Alejo, Princess Aliyah Rabara, Hailey Mendez, and Kenken Duyad are set to give life to the characters in the story. Directors Antoinette Jadaone and Irene Villamor are among the film’s scriptwriters.

The director and lead actress in the third film of comedian Vice Ganda’s “Praybeyt Benjamin” have yet to be confirmed, but it will be produced by ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. and Viva Communications, Inc. Daisy Cayanan, Dip Marisposque, and Jonathan James Albano were listed as its scriptwriters. The movie’s first installment was released in 2011, while the second one was in 2014. Both of these were directed by Wenn Deramas.

Moreover, “The Exorcism of My Siszums,” a film starring the Gonzaga sisters, Toni and Alex, has Fifth Solomon as its director and scriptwriter, with TinCan being the production company behind it. This is not the first time that a Gonzaga sisters’ film secured a spot in MMFF’s list of official entries; their romantic-comedy movie “Mary, Marry Me”  was part of the festival’s lineup in 2018.

“Congratulations to the first four (4) Official Entries for 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival,” the organizers said.

The MMFF has yet to announce the second batch of films, which will complete its “Magic 8” entries for this year’s edition. Held annually, the MMFF starts every December 25, Christmas Day.