Showbiz Expose: Erik Matti

2015 MMFF Full List of Winners, 'Walang Forever Wins' Best Picture, Direk Erik Matti a No-Show

Romanctic-comedy film 'Walang Forever' brings the Best Picture Award in the recently concluded 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival, held at the KIA Theatre last night, December 27, 2015. 2nd Big Picture Award goes to the comedy-horror movie 'Buy Now, Die Later' while the first team-up movie of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, 'My Bebe Love' bags the 3rd Best Picture Award. 
 
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vwT5hLcXgtY/VoBxjQpGLlI/AAAAAAAAGmY/9rKRI_XD-TU/s1600/Walang%2BForever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vwT5hLcXgtY/VoBxjQpGLlI/AAAAAAAAGmY/9rKRI_XD-TU/s1600/Walang%2BForever.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from Google</td></tr>
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Erik Matti, who won as Best Director for the movie 'Honor Thy Father' was a no-show in the said award-giving body while half of AlDub Maine Mendoza aka Yaya Dub, gets the Best Supporting Actress Award. 
 
Best Actor and Best Actress Award go to Jericho Rosales and Jennylyn Mercado respectively for the movie 'Walang Forever' 
 
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O5zkXWhVGzo/VoBwqOphoII/AAAAAAAAGmM/AzkOZKIGIDc/s1600/Jennylyn%2BMercardo%2BBest%2BActress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jennylyn Mercado - Best Actress Walang Forever" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O5zkXWhVGzo/VoBwqOphoII/AAAAAAAAGmM/AzkOZKIGIDc/s1600/Jennylyn%2BMercardo%2BBest%2BActress.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from Jonathan Asuncion / Philstar.com</td></tr>
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Here's the complete list of winners of the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival: 
 
Best Actor: Jericho Rosales ("Walang Forever") 
Best Actress: Jennylyn Mercado ("Walang Forever") 
Best Picture: "Walang Forever" 
Second Best Picture: Buy Now, Die Later 
Third Best Picture:  “My Bebe Love” 
Best Supporting Actress: Maine Mendoza ("My Bebe Love") 
Best Supporting Actor: Tirso Cruz III ("Honor Thy Father") 
Best Child Performer: Krystal Brimmer ("Honor Thy Father") 
Best Director: Erik Matti ("Honor Thy Father") 
Best Story: "Walang Forever" 
Best Screenplay: Paul Sta. Ana ("Walang Forever") 
Best Festival Editing: "Nilalang" 
Best Film Editor: Jason Cahapay ("Nilalang") 
Best Festival Cinematography: Pao Orendain ("Nilalang") 
Best Festival Sound: Ditoy Aguila ("Nilalang") 
Best Musical Score: Jessie Lasaten ("Nilalang") 
Best Festival Original Theme Song: "Tao" by Armi Millare ("Honor Thy Father") 
Best Make-up Artist: Ryan Panaligan ("Honor Thy Father") 
Best Visual Effects: "Nilalang" 
Best Festival Production Design: "Buy Now Die Later" 
Best Float: "Buy Now, Die Later" 
FPJ Memorial Award for Excellence: "Walang Forever" 
Gatpuno J. Villegas Cultural Award: "My Bebe Love" 
 
Short Film Best Picture: "Mumu" 
Best Animation Film: "Momento" 
New Wave Animation Special Jury Prize: "Lights Lights" 
New Wave Full-Feature Special Jury: "Toto" 
New Wave Full-Length Best Supporting Actress: Bibet Orteza ("Toto") 
New Wave Full-Length Best Actor: JM De Guzman ("Tandem") & Francisco Quinto ("Ari") 
New Wave Full-Length Best Director:John Paul Su ("Toto")

Romanctic-comedy film 'Walang Forever' brings the Best Picture Award in the recently concluded 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival, held at the KIA Theatre last night, December 27, 2015. 2nd Big Picture Award goes to the comedy-horror movie 'Buy Now, Di…

John Lloyd Cruz 'Honor Thy Father' Disqualified by MMFF Committee, Producer Says "No Rule Was Violated"

The Graded A film by Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB), "Honor Thy Father" has been disqualified by the MMFF Committee to win the Best Picture award, a day after the official opening of the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival. 
 
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rq3iOWo56tE/Vn7-wwa5yNI/AAAAAAAAGlY/VdPDHJJXSdk/s1600/Honor%2BThy%2BFather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Honor Thy Father movie poster" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rq3iOWo56tE/Vn7-wwa5yNI/AAAAAAAAGlY/VdPDHJJXSdk/s1600/Honor%2BThy%2BFather.jpg" /></a></div>
 
Directed by Erik-Matti, the film which top-bill by John Lloyd Cruz and Meryll Soriano will no longer be qualified to enter the festival's Best Picture category because of the producer's failure to "disclose its participation to the CinemaOne Originals Festival 2015 as the opening film." 
 
This was written in an official letter sent by MMFF Committee to the producer of Honor Thy Father, Mr. Ronald Stephen Monteverde 
 
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Mr. Monteverde releases an official statement regarding the disqualification of the film Honor Thy Father thur the film's Facebook page. 
 
Monteverde reiterated that they complied with all the MMFF's requirements and did not commit an non-disclosure of any kind and that no MMFF rule was ever violated. 
 
Below is the official statement: 
 
When Reality Entertainment partnered with John Lloyd Cruz in producing “Honor Thy Father” we agreed to make a movie that would capture a small portion of the struggle of the Filipino as he tried to transcend the back-breaking realities and limitations of his life. We wanted to tell the story of Edgar, a Filipino who finally fights back. After putting up with so much oppression, he confronts the people that have made his life hell, people motivated by greed for money and lust for power. 
 
Little did I know then that this same narrative would find its way to the movie’s own history. 
 
Today I received a letter from the Metro Manila Film Festival informing me that their Executive Committee had disqualified our movie from the Best Picture Category of the 2015 MMFF Awards. The reason for this, the letter said, was our “non-disclosure” of our participation in the CinemaOne Originals Film Festival as the Opening Film. 
 
Let me refute this allegation of non-disclosure. If you will recall, Honor Thy Father was a late addition to the MMFF 2015 lineup. It had been rejected by their selection committee when the lineup was announced in June. On October 23 our film was officially offered a slot after an entry pulled out. By then we had already accepted CinemaOne’s invitation to screen as Opening Film. We informed the MMFF Secretariat, both by email and by phone, about this. We complied with their request for a letter from CinemaOne head Ronald Arguelles attesting that the screening was non-revenue generating and by invitation only. We have all of this on record. 
 
Secondly, each MMFF entry is allowed a maximum of two premieres. Our CinemaOne screening would be our premiere. 
 
Let me repeat: we complied with all the MMFF’s requirements; we did not commit any non-disclosure of any kind; no MMFF rule was ever violated by Honor Thy Father. 
 
I am questioning the reasons, the timing, and the means employed in enforcing this decision by the MMFF Executive Committee. Where is due process in all of this? We were merely informed of their decision, not given any opportunity to air our side. They sent the letter today. The awarding ceremony is tomorrow. Are they merely being good scouts and sticklers for the rules, even when no rule was broken? Or is there some other reason? Why disqualify the movie only from the Best Picture category and not all categories? Whose interests are being protected by this last-minute decision? 
 
Together with my director Erik Matti, co-executive producer and actor John Lloyd Cruz, and everyone behind Honor Thy Father, I demand answers. We demand an investigation. But if no one would care or bother to investigate, then we simply wish that the moviegoers, the Filipino people would start to question and be more critical of what, year in and year out, is passed off to them as good and true. 
 
They can have their Best Picture and all the other awards. We just want to keep making movies that people will care about, MMFF or no MMFF. 
 
Today is a sad day for the industry I was born into and love dearly. But it doesn’t have to stay this way. 
 
Let’s do something about it. Let’s end the silence. 
 
Dondon Monteverde 
Reality Entertainment Inc. 
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2015 Metro Manila Film Festival Dondon Monteverde Erik Matti Honor Thy Father John Lloyd Cruz MMFF Movies Reality Entertainment Inc Viral John Lloyd Cruz 'Honor Thy Father' Disqualified by MMFF Committee, Producer Says "No Rule Was Violated"

The Graded A film by Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB), "Honor Thy Father" has been disqualified by the MMFF Committee to win the Best Picture award, a day after the official opening of the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival. Directed by Erik-Matti, the fi…

Showbiz Expose

2015 MMFF Full List of Winners, 'Walang Forever Wins' Best Picture, Direk Erik Matti a No-Show

John Lloyd Cruz 'Honor Thy Father' Disqualified by MMFF Committee, Producer Says "No Rule Was Violated"

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