'Asian Persuasion' wins audience award at SOHO International Film Fest

Tony and Grammy award-winning producer Jhett Tolentino could not believe it when he heard that his directorial debut movie, "Asian Persuasion," bagged the Audience Award at the recently held SOHO International Film Festival.

With both hands on his ears and mouth wide open in disbelief, Tolentino went up onstage and accepted the award from Frank Passantino of Printech, one of the partners of the festival which is headed and founded by Jorge Ballos.

Written by first-time screenwriter Mike Ang, the comedy-drama-romance stars Dante Basco, KC Concepcion, Paolo Montalban, Yam Concepcion and Kevin Kreider ("Bling Empire") among others.

Other nominees in the said category included "Little Brother" (directed by Sheridan O'Donnell), "Passing Through" (directed by Mike Doyle), "Queen of Knives" (directed by Jon Delgado), and "The Nana Project" (directed by Robin Givens).

"We are immensely pleased to recognize the innovative filmmaking and the talented creators in our program," said Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago, the Executive Director and Head of Programming. "The films this year exemplify a powerful testament that storytelling across a spectrum of genres is truly an invigorating and inspiring journey."

The other winners at the festival which celebrated its 14th year were "Little Brother" taking the award for Best US Showcase Feature Film, Jihane El Bahhar's "Triple A" from Morocco which bagged the Best World Showcase Feature Film Award, Jeremy Williams' Sacred Dog "Sunka Wakhan" (Best Showcase Documentary Film), Kevin Sharpley's "Above Ground" (Best Showcase Animated Film), Jordan Hidalgo's "The Auction" (Best US Showcase Short Film), Abbie Lucas' "Voices" from the United Kingdom (Best World Showcase Short Film), and Giuseppe Malpasso's "Astor Place, The American Dream" (United States).

Philip Ettinger of "Little Brother" won the Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role – US Feature; Puiu-Mircea Lascus of "A Frame of Mind" (Romania) won the Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role – World Feature; Sophia Power of "Cold & Sara" won Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role – US Short; and Victoria Dunsmore of "A Song for William Bird" from Canada won Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role – World Short.

The festival also presented special awards in collaboration with New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT), recognizing and honoring the exceptional contributions of women in the film industry and was presented by NYWIFT Executive Director, Cynthia Lopez. The Excellence in Directing Awards were presented to Vivian Kerr for the narrative feature, Scrap, and Frances Causey for the documentary feature "Final Fight: When The Trauma Of War Comes Home."

The well-attended awards gala, which was held at the Fushimi Times Square, marked a grand celebration of cinematic excellence and honored winners from the diverse array of over 125 films.

On the West Coast, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), the beloved and popular annual event that celebrates Filipino cinema and its talent in the Philippines, is going Hollywood.

The overseas edition of MMFF, named Manila International Film Festival (MIFF), will screen the eight 2023 MMFF entries in Los Angeles in late January 2024. MIFF will climax with an exciting and glamorous awards gala.

An MIFF opening premiere and a meet and greet will also be held. Stars and filmmakers representing the eight entries will be invited to grace the Hollywood staging of the MMFF.

Four of the eight entries to this year's MMFF, scheduled from December 25, 2023 through the first weekend of January 2024 in the Philippines, have already been selected, based on their script submissions alone.

The first four entries, announced by MMFF last July, are: Nuel Naval's "A Mother and Son's Story," written by Mel Mendoza Del Rosario, starring Sharon Cuneta and Alden Richards; King Palisoc's "(K)Ampon," written by Dodo Dayao, starring Beauty Gonzales and Derek Ramsay; Jason Paul Laxamana's "Penduko," which he also wrote, starring Matteo Guidicelli and Cristine Reyes; and Mae Cruz-Alviar's "Rewind," written by Enrico Santos and starring Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes.

The remaining four entries will be chosen from completed film submissions.

The four-day festival in Los Angeles showing the eight entries is anticipated to draw a diverse audience from all over California, home to the biggest Filipino population in the United States, and generations of immigrant families from various countries.

The Manila International Film Festival will be launched in Hollywood on Thursday, November 2, at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) with a screening of three films chosen from the eight entries in the inaugural summer edition of MMFF (Metro Manila Summer Film Festival – MMSFF) held last April in the Philippines.

These three films to be screened in the MIFF launch at the DGA on famed Sunset Boulevard are Jun Lana's "About Us But Not About Us," starring Romnick Sarmenta and Elijah Canlas, which won several MMSFF awards, including best picture; Chris Martinez's "Here Comes the Groom," starring Enchong Dee, Miles Ocampo and Gladys Reyes, MMSFF special jury prize winner; and JP Habac Jr.'s "Love You Long Time," starring Carlo Aquino, Eisel Serrano and Ana Abad Santos.

The LA launch will feature a VIP reception and a meet and greet with the stars and filmmakers behind these three films from MMFF's first-ever summer version. Tickets to the November 2 screenings and events, to be held at DGA (7920 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046), including screening and event times, are available here.

The Hollywood edition is part of the celebration marking the 50th edition of the MMFF in 2024. In 1975, with the establishment of the Metro Manila government, the annual event was renamed Metropolitan Film Festival with the inclusion of the other towns and cities in the metropolis.

In 1977, the festival was renamed as Metro Manila Film Festival, its name to this day. A cherished festival organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), MMFF is now held nationwide. Celebrating its half a century of existence, the festival continues its highly anticipated parade of floats, bearing stars of the film entries, which kicks off the festival every December 25 in the Philippines.

MIFF is expected to continue MMFF's tradition of bringing families together to the cinemas and to discover and appreciate the talents and variety of genres of Philippine cinema.

The MIFF founders are Omen Ortiz, chairman; Ebradu Udarbe, president; Lisa Lew, executive producer; Ruben Nepales and this writer, media relations consultants; and Celia Abaya Dy, ticketing manager. Also on the MIFF team are Leo Dela Cruz, chief financial officer; Erickson Ilog, chief operations officer; Ron Ramores, chief marketing officer; and Cindy Sison, consultant.

MMFF is led by MMDA acting chair and MMFF concurrent chairman, Atty. Romando Artes and executive director, Atty. Rochelle Ona.

MIFF's festival venues in LA will be announced soon.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News