MANILA, Philippines – The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) announced on Monday, July 10, the first four official entries for its 2023 edition.

The first four MMFF entries are:

• A Mother and Son’s Story starring Sharon Cuneta and Alden Richards
• (K)Ampon starring Beauty Gonzales and Derek Ramsay
• Penduko starring Matteo Guidicelli and Cristine Reyes
• Rewind starring Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes

First announced in June, A Mother and Son’s Story is a drama movie under Cineko Productions Incorporated. It will be directed by Nuel Naval with a screenplay by Mel Mendoza-Del Rosario. 

(K)Ampon is a horror-thriller movie under Quantum Films. King Palisoc will be directing, while Dodo Dayao is in charge of the script. 

Penduko, a fantasy-action movie under Sari Sari Network, will have Jason Paul Laxamana as the director and scriptwriter. Guidicelli was first announced in October 2019 as the new actor to take on the role of Pedro Penduko. 

Rewind is a romance-drama film in collaboration between Star Cinema, APT Entertainment, and Agosto Dos Media. Mae Cruz-Alviar is the director, while Enrico Santos is the scriptwriter. Rewind will serve as Rivera and Dantes’ first movie together in 13 years. 

MMFF committee head Jessie Ejercito and selection committee member Roy Iglesias explained that the entries were selected based on script submissions alone, adding that they received a total of 26 scripts from 32 production companies. 

The four scripts were chosen based on the following criteria: artistic excellence (40%), commercial appeal (40%), Filipino cultural sensibility (10%), and global appeal (10%).

Four more films will be chosen to complete the festival’s so-called “magic eight.” 

The last four films will be selected from finished film submissions. The deadline for the submission of finished movie entries is on September 29. 

The 49th edition of MMFF will run from December 2023 to January 2024. 

In April, MMFF launched its inaugural summer edition. – Rappler.com