Famous filmmakers never stop speaking out about what they think is right and moral.
2025 MMFF Best Director Jeffrey Jeturian mocked Angelica Panganiban for still being “Best Actress” without saying it despite Down syndrome actress Krystel Go winning the award for “I’mPerfect.”
Director Benedict Mique posted on his Facebook account wall that he literally fell asleep during a bad 51st MMFF film because of its “ugliness.”
In other words, Benedict said that the quality of the festival is not “a fest entry.”
And now, Jun Robles Lana, the director of 2025 MMFF top-grosser, Star Cinema, The IdeaFirst Company and Viva Films’ “Call Me Mother,” called out the MMFF management, theater owners and other stakeholders, and indirectly, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for their inaction on the fest’s ticket price hike.
The maverick filmmaker simply described the political economy of the entire enterprise.
“For decades, the MMFF was the ‘people’s festival.’ It was the one time of year when ordinary workers took their children to the mall to see their idols. But today, a family of four would need at least P1,500 just to enter the theater, not including transportation or even a single bag of popcorn,” Robles Lana commented.
Jun has foreseen the effects of high-ticket prices imposed by the various stakeholders.
