‘Ang Larawan’ Wins Best Picture at MMFF 2017
I don’t think we’ve ever been more invested in the local film industry as much as we have this year. With Vincent de Jesus’ torch musical ‘Changing Partners” successful transfer from stage to screen, bagging the most wins at the recently concluded Cinema One Originals Awards, the movie musical ‘Ang Larawan’ has also just won some of the biggest awards– Best Picture, Best Actress for Joanna Ampil, Best Production Design for Gino Gonzales, and Best Musical Score for Ryan Cayabyab at this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
Joanna Ampil wins Best Actress; Taken from the film’s official Facebook page
The film also won special awards including the Gat Puno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award and the First Special Jury Prize for National Artist, Nick Joaquin.
This is much welcomed news since the film has been struggling to stay in theaters after a mere two days since the festival began in December 25. According to the film’s Facebook page, the film has been taken out of a great number of cinemas as of this writing.
Taken from the film’s official Facebook page
Based on the 1997 stage musical ‘Ang Larawan the Musical’ starring Celeste Legaspi and Zsa Zsa Padilla, with music by Ryan Cayabyab and book and lyrics by Rolando Tinio, the cast features powerhouse theater and film actors– Joanna Ampil, Rachel Alejandro Sandino Martin, Paolo Avelino, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Nonie Buencamino, Aicelle Santos, Cris Villonco, and Robert Arevalo among many others. The musical was based on Nick Joaquin’s ‘A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.’
You can see a complete list of the winners HERE.
