“One More Try” was the big winner at the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival Awards night at the Meralco Theater in Ortigas, Pasig last Dec. 27. It won a total of six awards, including the much-coveted Best Picture, plus the inaugural Fernando Poe Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence.
It beat “The Womb,” the critically-acclaimed film expected to win majority of the awards, but failed to do so. It still received the Gatpuno Villegas Cultural Award. The movie, which stars Superstar Nora Aunor, reportedly got pulled out from some moviehouses due to poor performance; it’s in last place in terms of box office results, according to Yahoo! OMG. So when director Brillante Mendoza, who also won Best Director for “Thy Womb,” received the Gatpuno award, he took the opportunity to tell people, “Showing pa po kami. Sana po makatulong yung award. At sana wag po kayong mag-pull out.”
But going back to the big winner of the night, “One More Try,” apart from winning Best Picture it also won the following: Best Child Performer (Miguel Vergara), Best Editing (Vito Cahilig), Best Screenplay, and Best Actor (Dingdong Dantes).
Here is the complete list of winners:
Youth Choice Award: “El Presidente”
Best Festival Float: “El Presidente”
Best Sound: “El Presidente”
Best Musical Score: “El Presidente”
Best Theme Song: “El Presidente”
Best Make Up: “El Presidente”
Best Child Performer: Miguel Vergara for “One More Try”
Full Length New Wave Best Actor: Allan Paule for “Dayak”
Full length New Wave Best Actress: Liza Dinno for “In Nomine Matris”
New Wave Best Picture: “The Grave Bandits”
New Wave Special Jury Prize: “Ad Ignoratiam”
New Wave Best Director: Tyrone Acierto for “The Grave Bandits”
Best Visual Effects: “Shake Rattle and Roll 14: The Invasion”
Best Production Design: “Thy Womb”
Best Editing: Vito Cahilig for “One More Try”
Best Cinematographer: Odyssey Flores for “Thy Womb”
Most Gender Sensitive Award (Mainstream): “Thy Womb”
FPJ Memorial Award for Excellence: “One More Try”
Best Supporting Actor: Cesar Montano for “El Presidente”
Best Supporting Actress: Wilma Doesn’t for “Sisterakas”
Best Original Story: Henry Burgos for “Thy Womb”
Best Screenplay: “One More Try”
Best Director: Brillante Mendoza for “Thy Womb”
Gatpuno Villegas Cultural Award: “Thy Womb”
3rd Best Picture: “Sisterakas”
2nd Best Picture: “El Presidente”
Best Picture: “One More Try”
Best Actor: Dingdong Dantes for “One More Try”
Best Actress: Nora Aunor for “Thy Womb”
