The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) encouraged the viewers to support the Philippine Film Industry as they announced to divert traditional theater viewing into digital access for the annual film festival to proceed this December.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, the 46th celebration of the MMFF, in partnership with Globe and Upstream, will officially screen the selected Filipino films online. With this, the MMFF shows its intent to reach more Filipino viewers, including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), through digital means.
“COVID-19 should not dampen the Filipino Christmas spirit. We are bringing the MMFF tradition in every Filipino home across the globe with this new platform. We are very excited about this because Filipinos abroad and those who cannot go home for the holidays can enjoy the MMFF tradition by watching MMFF movies on Upstream platform,” said MMFF Chairman Danilo Lim.
As MMFF recreates Filipino films, many unauthorized people were expected to pirate the actual scenes. To this, Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu motivated viewers to “fight for online privacy”.
Due to the rampant cases of illegal streaming in the country, Globe, MMFF, film producers, and others involved have united to launch #PlayItRight—a campaign that seeks viewers and other industries to help report piracy during the length of the festival since 2017.
Cu stated that Globe has always been endeavored to deliver the convenience of every Filipino and as MMFF is part of Filipino lives especially during the Christmas season, it will be the bridge to turn traditional viewing into a digital means that will be accessible for millions of Filipino in and abroad.
Cu even cited that Korean films started small and now comes to work globally, so why not the Philippines (referring to Filipino film-makers).
“Globe aims to recreate the Christmas that Filipinos love – amid the crisis – and the partnership that we forged with the MMDA is one way to do this. By making the entries accessible on Upstream in partnership with GMovies, we are bringing the MMFF tradition closer to home and delighting families in and out of the country. This also allows Filipinos to watch the movies using a legitimate platform,” he shared.
“Together with our partner Sphere, we are happy to deliver the MMFF tradition online via Upstream. Upstream enabled by GMovies will allow local Filipino content producers to bring their content to Filipinos at home and all over the world,” Upstream partner Dondon Monteverde added.
The tickets will be out on November 14 on the Globe GMovies portal. It can be paid via GCash for as low as 250 pesos per movie. After purchase, the viewers will be given a streaming code which is exclusive to the Upstream mobile application.
“The advantage of MMFF tickets today is that it’s made affordable for one purchase to be enjoyed by the entire family in the safety of their homes,” Don Monteverde Film Producer said.
On the other hand, other traditional activities such as “Gabi ng Parangal” and “Parade of the Star” will also be done virtually.
The first four MMFF entries are as follows: “Ang Mag Kaibigan ni Mama Susan”, “Magikland”, “Praybeyt Benjamin 3”, and the “The Exorcism of My Siszums”.
The whole movie roster will be finalized by the end of November.
