The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is in full swing for its inaugural summer edition, which kicks off on April 2 with the Parade of Stars.

In a news release issued Thursday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the parade would be hosted anew by Quezon City, known as the “City of Stars,” because of its recognition for culture, entertainment sector and media.

It will showcase eight floats, one representing each movie in this year’s movie lineup: Apag, Singlebells, About Us But Not About Us, Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko, Unravel, A Swiss Side Love Story, Here Comes The Groom, Yung Libro Sa Napanuod Ko and Love You Long Time.

Around 4 p.m., the parade will proceed via Commonwealth Avenue, from Villa Beatriz to Quezon Memorial Circle.

The main event will take place at the Liwasang Aurora.

MMDA acting chair and concurrent MMFF overall chair Don Artes said the MMDA would deploy 730 personnel to facilitate the smooth flow of the parade and ensure the safety of the public.

“We are thankful to the Quezon City government for hosting the first Summer MMFF Parade of Stars and for their assistance in the implementation of the agency’s traffic management plan,” Artes said.

People are expected to line up along Commonwealth Avenue to get a glimpse of the stars of each film, riding atop decorated floats.

The parade will run for five kilometers, with an estimated travel time of an hour and five minutes.

Meanwhile, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) under the leadership of Tirso Cruz III, said it would be providing funds worth PHP300,000 to help in marketing the films through CreatePHFilms, for each film producer whose entries made it to the Summer MMFF 2023.

The FDCP’s CreatePHFilms Funding Program is designed to provide support to filmmakers, producers, and distributors in all stages of filmmaking to complement their efforts to produce quality Filipino films.

The Summer MMFF will run for an 11-day period, from April 8 to 18, in all cinemas nationwide in partnership with the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines.

The awards night is scheduled on April 11 at the New Frontier Theater in Cubao, Quezon City.

Organized by the MMDA, the MMFF is aimed primarily to promote and enhance the preservation of Philippine Cinema. Proceeds from the film festival go to a number of beneficiaries in the film industry, including the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation Inc., the Motion Picture and Anti-Film Piracy Council, the FDCP, and the Optical Media Board. (PNA)