Video 48: THE 2013 METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS NIGHT: ROBIN PADILLA'S "10,000 HOURS" WINS BIG!

MANILA (December 27, 2013) - An action film that chronicles a senator's hours on the run nabbed 14 trophies, including Best Picture, at the 39th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) awards rites held Friday night.

In addition to top prizes for director Joyce Bernal and stars Robin Padilla and Pen Medina, "10,000 Hours" nearly swept the awards in the technical and creative categories, with recognition for screenplay, cinematography, editing, musical score, sound engineering, visual effects, and production design.

The story centers on Senator Gabriel Alcaraz (Padilla) as he goes into hiding after being accused of a crime he did not commit. The movie was inspired by real-life events involving former Senator Panfilo Lacson, who hid after an arrest warrant was released against him in relation to murders in 2000.

Bernal, in her speech accepting her Best Director trophy, thanked Lacson for trusting her with leading the project, which was initially done with consultation with the lawmaker. “Maraming salamat at pinagkatiwala niyo sa akin ito,” she said.

“Hindi pa po kami kumikita, so ito na muna,” she then quipped, referring to the low gross earnings of the film after two days in theaters.

Padilla also made a similar statement in his speech receiving the Best Picture award. He mentioned the three top earners and how they have supposedly earned back their respective film budgets. “Kami, hindi nakaka-boundary!”

While no official figures have been released, “10,000 Hours” does not rank among the 4 top-earning movies as of Friday. Collectively, the eight entries in the main competition posted P234 million gross earnings nationwide after only two days, surpassing last year’s record by 34%.

Returning to the stage to accept his Best Actor trophy, Padilla said, “Wala man sa amin ang salapi, na sa amin ang karangalan!”

“10,000 Hours” also won two special awards – the FPJ Memorial Award for Excellence, and the Gat Puno Villegas Cultural Award.

Crowd favorites win big, too

Named 2nd and 3rd Best Picture, respectively, were the comedy flicks “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy” and “My Little Bossings,” which both took home acting prizes for their respective stars.

Screen veteran Maricel Soriano won Best Actress for her role as a devoted mother in the Vice Ganda-starrer, while Aiza Seguerra and Ryzza Mae Dizon received the trophies for Best Supporting Actress and Best Child Performer, respectively, in the Kris Aquino-produced film.

Aquino, who hosted the awards ceremony along with actress KC Concepcion, also accepted the Best Original Theme Song award won by “My Little Bossings.”

The horror film “Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay,” which trailed the two comedy movies in earnings as of Friday, took home the Youth Choice Award and the Best Makeup trophy.

Notably without major awards, the ER Ejercito-starrer “Boy Golden: The Arturo Porcuna Story” only took home the Best Float trophy for its Parade of Stars showcase last Sunday. In the last three editions of the MMFF, Ejercito’s self-produced movies including “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story” dominated categories they were nominated in.

New Wave

In this year’s New Wave section, “Dukit” won big among the five full-length entries, with three of its stars – Willy Layug, Bambalito Lacap, and Bor Ocampo -- tying as Best Actor. The film, which centers on a famed sculptor and his tragic past, also won Best Picture and Best Director for Armando Lao.

Agot Isidro also got the top acting prize in the New Wave section for her role as a woman battling schizophrenia in “Mga Anino ng Kahapon.” The Alvin Yapan film also received the Special Jury Prize in its section.

“Ang Paglisan” was named Best Picture in New Wave’s student film category, while “Kaleh and Mbaki” took home the same prize among the five animation shorts in the competition.

Here is the full list of winners of the 39th MMFF:

Student short film (New Wave) Special Jury Prize winner: “#NoFilter” by Luigi Rosario
Student short film (New Wave) Best Picture: “Ang Paglisan”
Animation (New Wave) Special Jury Prize winner: "Ang Lalong ni Kulakog" by Omar Aguilar
Animation (New Wave) Best Picture: "Kaleh and Mbaki" by Dennis Sebastian
Best Float: "Boy Golden: The Arturo Porcuna Story”
Youth Choice Award winner: "Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay"
New Wave full-length Best Director: Armando Lao, "Dukit"
New Wave full-length Special Jury Prize winner: "Mga Anino ng Kahapon"
New Wave full-length Best Picture: "Dukit"
New Wave full-length Best Actress: Agot Isidro, "Mga Anino ng Kahapon"
New Wave full-length Best Actor: Willy Layug, Bambalito Lacap, and Bor Ocampo
Best Child Performer: Ryzza Mae Dizon, "My Little Bossings"
Best Original Theme Song: "My Little Bossings"
Best Sound Engineering: "10,000 Hours"
Best Musical Score: "10,000 Hours"
Best Visual Effects: “10,000 Hours”
Best Makeup: “Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay”
Best Production Design: "10,000 Hours"
Best Editor: Marya Ignacio, "10,000 Hours"
Best Cinematography: "10,000 Hours"
Most Gender-Sensitive Film (New Wave full-length): "Island Dreams" directed by Aloy Adlawan
Most Gender-Sensitive Film (Main): "Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy" directed by Wenn Deramas
Most Gender-Sensitive Film (New Wave student films category): "Hintayin Mo sa Seq. 24" directed by Jezreel Reyes
Special Recognition Award: Ronnie Ricketts, Optical Media Board chairperson
FPJ Memorial Award for Excellence winner: "10,000 Hours"
Male Star of the Night: Daniel Padilla
Female Star of the Night: Eugene Domingo
Best Original Story: "10,000 Hours"
Best Screenplay: "10,000 Hours"
Best Director: Joyce Bernal, "10,000 Hours"
Gat Puno Villegas Cultural Award: "10,000 Hours"
Best Supporting Actor: Pen Medina, "10,000 Hours"
Best Supporting Actress: Aiza Seguerra, "My Little Bossings"
3rd Best Picture: "My Little Bossings"
2nd Best Picture: "Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy"
Best Picture: "10,000 Hours"
Best Actor: Robin Padilla,"10,000 Hours"
Best Actress: Maricel Soriano, "Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy"
(Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/12/27/13/39th-mmff-winners-named)

Here's the eight entries in the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival