1978 Metro Manila Film Festival

1978 Metro Manila Film Festival
Date 25 December 1978
Official website website
Highlights
Best Picture Atsay
Most awards Atsay (4)
 < 3rd Metro Manila Film Festival 5th > 

The 4th Metro Manila Film Festival had its run in 1978 starting from December 25 onwards. There were nine official entries and Atsay was hailed as the Festival's Best Film.

Ian Film Productions' Atsay received the most awards, with a total of four including Best Picture Award in the highly contested 1978 Metro Manila Film Festival. The movie also won for Nora Aunor the Best Performer Award, the first and only awardee of the category. Sampaguita Pictures' Rubia Servios received two awards: Best Screenplay for Mario O'Hara and Best Editing for Jose Tarnate. RVQ's Jack n' Jill of the Third Kind was the top grosser of the festival.[1]

Entries

Title of Movie Starring Studio Director
Ang Huling Lalaki ng Baluarte Rey Malonzo, Tina Monasterio SQ Film Productions Artemio Marquez
Atsay Nora Aunor, Ronald Corveau, Amy Austria, Armida Siguon-Reyna, Roldan Aquino, Renato Robles, Lilian Laing, Angie Ferro, Bella Flores Ian Film Productions Eddie Garcia
Garrote: Jai Alai King Christopher de Leon, Marianne dela Riva, Dranreb, Johnny Delgado, Amy Austria, Cynthia Gonzales, Allan Valenzuela, Manny Luna VP Pictures Manuel 'Fyke' Cinco
Jack n'Jill of the Third Kind Dolphy, Nora Aunor, Rolly Quizon, Panchito, Paquito Diaz, Martin Marfil, Georgie Quizon, Max Vera RVQ Productions Frank Gray Jr.
Katawang Alabok Robert Arevalo, Daisy Romualdez, Orestes Ojeda, Janet Bordon, Vic Silayan, Lorna Tolentino, Manny Luna, Anita Linda, Lucita Soriano Agrix Film Productions Emmanuel H. Borlaza
Kid Kaliwete Bembol Roco, George Estregan, Trixia Gomez and Jean Saburit, Joonee Gamboa, Cynthia Gonzales, Val Iglesias Associated Entertainment Corp. Manuel Cinco
Rubia Servios Vilma Santos, Mat Ranillo III, Phillip Salvador Sampaguita Pictures Lino Brocka
Salonga Rudy Fernandez, George Estregan, Trixia Gomez, Ruel Vernal, Raul Aragon, Dencio Padilla, Amy Austria, Rodolfo 'Boy' Garcia, Jose Romulo, Veronica Jones MBM Productions Romy Suzara
The Jess Lapid Story Lito Lapid, Beth Bautista Mirick Films Gallardo

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.[2]

Best Film Best Director
  • Atsay – Ian Film Productions
Best Performer Best Editing
  • Jose Tarnate Rubia Servios
Best Screenplay Best Cinematography
  • Romeo Vitug Atsay
Best Art Direction
  • Robert L. Lee III and Peter Perlas Katawang Alabok

Multiple awards

Films with multiple awards

The following films received one or multiple awards:

Awards Film
4 Atsay
2 Rubia Servios
1 Katawang Alabok

Ceremony Information

"Noranians" versus "Vilmanians"

The board of jurors decided to not award honors for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for some reasons. Instead, the jurors gave Nora Aunor a "Best Performer" award for her role in the movie Atsay. Ms. Aunor beat Ms. Santos, whom fortune-tellers on the talk show of Inday Badiday had predicted would win the award for her role in the movie Rubia Servios. Confident that she would win, Ms. Santos reportedly went to the awards night at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in an expensive couture gown. After the awards ceremonies, Ms. Santos reportedly got so drunk she passed out.[3]

Atsay vs. Rubia Servios commentary

In 1979, Isagani Cruz of TV Times commented about Atsay and Rubia Servios. He states: "Rubia Servios is Lino Brocka's film; Atsay is Eddie Garcia's. Nora does an excellent acting job; but so does Vilma Santos, and Rubia is a much more demanding and difficult role. Edgardo M. Reyes is an established literary figure, but Mario O'Hara is much better screenwriter. Overall, Atsay may be much more impressive than Rubia Servios. In terms of challenging our moral and legal convictions, however, Rubia Servios is much more significant."[4]

Box Office gross

MMFF Entry Gross Ticket Sales
Jack and Jill P 22.1 million
Atsay P 16.0 million
Salonga P 14.0 million
Rubia Servios P 12.0 million
Ang Huling Lalaki ng Baluarte P 7.5 million
Kid Kaliwete P 6.5 million
Garrote: Jai-Alai King P 4.0 million
Jess Lapid Story P 3.5 million
Katawang Alabok P 2.0 million

References

  1. "THE 1978 METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL: NORA'S "ATSAY" VS. VILMA'S "RUBIA SERVIOS"". Video 48. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  2. "Metro Manila Film Festival:1978". IMDB. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
  3. "Through the years: Controversies in the MMFF". Business World Online. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  4. Isagani Cruz. Atsay and Rubia Servios comment. TV Times. 1979.

External links

Preceded by
1977 Metro Manila Film Festival
Metro Manila Film Festival
1978
Succeeded by
1979 Metro Manila Film Festival