Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather Is Fine), Carlo Francisco Manatad’s audacious magical realist take on Super Typhoon Haiyan’s impact on the psyche of survivors, topped the nominations for the 2nd Pinoy Rebyu Awards, as voted by the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers.
Kun Maupay, which was an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival, received a leading 11 nominations. Aside from nods for Best Film and Manatad for Director, Screenplay, and First Feature, it is also nominated for Lead Performance (for Charo Santos-Concio), Supporting Performance (Rans Rifol), Ensemble Performance, as well as four other technical categories.
Close on its heels with 10 nominations is Erik Matti’s On the Job: The Missing 8, the long-awaited sequel to the hugely successful On the Job (2013). The Missing 8 participated in the Venice Film Festival where it won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for John Arcilla. Aside from Pinoy Rebyu nominations for Film and Director for Matti, it is also nominated for Lead Performance (Arcilla), Supporting Performance (Lotlot de Leon), Ensemble Performance, Screenplay, and four other technical categories.
The three other nominees for Best Film are Historya ni Ha, Lav Diaz’s 1950s-set film starring John Lloyd Cruz as a successful ventriloquist who returns to his barrio; Big Night!, Jun Lana’s hilarious satire on the Philippine drug war; and Last Days at Sea, a wistful ode to friendship from debuting filmmaker Venice Atienza.
Aside from Santos-Concio (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon) and Arcilla (On the Job: The Missing 8), the other nominees for Best Lead Performance are Christian Bables (Big Night!), John Lloyd Cruz (Historya ni Ha), Kim Molina (Ikaw at Ako at ang Ending), and Mae Paner (Tao Po).
The SFFR does not distinguish actors’ gender in the acting categories, the way it does not distinguish gender in the technical categories.
The Best Supporting Performance category has all-women nominees. Aside from de Leon (On the Job: The Missing 8) and Rifol (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon), the other nominees are Angie Castrence (Gameboys: The Movie), Dolly de Leon (Historya ni Ha), Jay Valencia Glorioso (Rabid), and Mystica (Kids on Fire).
One of the pleasant surprises in this year’s nominations is the strong showing of short films in categories outside Best Short Film (whether Live Action, Animated, or Documentary). Aside from Mystica’s nomination and a Best Live Action Short Film nod, Kids on Fire, for example, is nominated for 3 other categories: Screenplay, Production Design, and Original Score.
Other multiple short film nominees include Filipiñana, with nods for Live Action Short Film and Cinematography; Maski Papano, nominated for Live Action Short Film and Screenplay; and Random People, recognized for the Documentary Short Film and Editing categories. It’s Raining Frogs Outside is nominated for Editing while How to Die Young in Manila is nominated for Original Score.
This is unprecedented in local film awards bodies, and is a testament to the improving creativity of young filmmakers unburdened by the need to compromise with many full-length film producers who insist on giving the public tired narratives.
The Society of Filipino Film Reviewers’ 2nd Pinoy Rebyu Awards celebrate the best achievements in Philippine cinema of 2021. For eligibility, members of SFFR considered all films released in the calendar year in at least one cinema in the Philippines or on a largely accessible streaming service between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. The SFFR is composed of 38 active reviewers of Philippine cinema.
The complete list of nominees can be found below.
Best Film
A total of 35 films received nominations from members of the society.
BIG NIGHT!
Directed by Jun Robles Lana
Produced by Guido Zaballero, Sienna Olaso, Vitto Lazatin, Isabel Santillan, and Ferdinand Lapuz
HISTORYA NI HA
Directed by Lav Diaz
Produced by Lav Diaz
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Directed by Carlo Francisco Manatad
Produced by Josabeth Alonso, Armi Rae Cacanindin, and Vincent Wang
LAST DAYS AT SEA
Directed by Venice Atienza
Produced by Venice Atienza, Fan Wu, Moshe Ladanga and Katrin Maria Escay
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Directed by Erik Matti
Produced by Ronald Stephen Monteverde, Erik Matti, Joseph Caliro, and Quark Henares
Best Director
A total of 30 directors received nominations from members of the society.
Venice Atienza
LAST DAYS AT SEA
Lav Diaz
HISTORYA NI HA
Jun Robles Lana
BIG NIGHT!
Carlo Francisco Manatad
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Erik Matti
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Best Screenplay
A total of 32 screenplays were nominated by members of the society.
BIG NIGHT!
Jun Robles Lana
HISTORYA NI HA
Lav Diaz
KIDS ON FIRE
Kyle Nieva
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Giancarlo Abrahan, Jérémie Dubois, Carlo Francisco Manatad
MASKI PAPANO
Che Tagyamon
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Erik Matti and Michiko Yamamoto
Best Lead Performance
A total of 30 actors received nominations by members of the society.
John Arcilla
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Christian Bables
BIG NIGHT!
John Lloyd Cruz
HISTORYA NI HA
Kim Molina
IKAW AT AKO AT ANG ENDING
Mae Paner
TAO PO
Charo Santos-Concio
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Best Supporting Performance
A total of 36 actors received nominations by members of the society.
Angie Castrence
GAMEBOYS: THE MOVIE
Dolly de Leon
HISTORYA NI HA
Lotlot de Leon
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Jay Valencia Glorioso
RABID
Mystica
KIDS ON FIRE
Rans Rifol
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Best Ensemble Performance
A total of 26 ensembles were nominated by members of the society.
BIG NIGHT!
Christian Bables, Gina Alajar, Nico Antonio, John Arcilla, Soliman Cruz, Ricky Davao, Janice de Belen, Martin del Rosario, Eugene Domingo, Gina Pareño
GAMEBOYS: THE MOVIE
Elijah Canlas, Kokoy de Santos, Susan Africa, Angie Castrence, Miggy Jimenez, Kych Minemoto, Adrianna So, Kyle Velino
HISTORYA NI HA
John Lloyd Cruz, Dolly de Leon, Jonathan O. Francisco, Ceian Hazel Gabuco, Eliezl Gabuco, Cesar Gabuco, Teroy Guzman, Earl Ignacio, Hazel Orencio, Mae Paner, Erwin Romulo, Jun Sabayton
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Charo Santos-Concio, Daniel Padilla, Rans Rifol
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
John Arcilla, Lotlot de Leon, Dennis Trillo, Dante Rivero, Andrea Brillantes, Donna Cariaga, Rayver Cruz, Soliman Cruz, Ricky Davao, Christopher de Leon, Isabelle de Leon, Ina Feleo, Eric Fructuoso, Agot Isidro, Joey Marquez, Leo Martinez, William Martinez, Vandolph Quizon
Best Film Editing
A total of 35 film editors were nominated by members of the society.
AMPANGABAGAT NIN TALAKBA HA LIKOL (IT’S RAINING FROGS OUTSIDE)
Maria Estela Paiso
BIG NIGHT!
Benjamin Tolentino
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Benjo Ferrer
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Jay Halili
RANDOM PEOPLE
Caleb Maglunob
Best Cinematography
A total of 30 directors of photography were nominated by members of the society.
ARISAKA
Mycko David
FILIPIÑANA
Xenia Patricia
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Teck Siang Lim
LAST DAYS AT SEA
Moshe Ladanga and Venice Atienza
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Neil Bion
Best Production Design
A total of 29 productions were nominated by members of the society.
BIG NIGHT!
Marxie Maolen Fadul
DEATH OF NINTENDO
Whammy Alcazaren and Thesa Tang
KIDS ON FIRE
Alvin Francisco
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Whammy Alcazaren
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Roma Regala
RABID
Shiel Marie Calde
Best Film Score
A total of 29 film scores were nominated by members of the society.
BIG NIGHT!
Teresa Barrozo
HOW TO DIE YOUNG IN MANILA
Alyana Cabral
KIDS ON FIRE
Len Calvo
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Andrew Florentino
ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8
Malek Lopez, Arvin Nogueras, Erwin Romulo
Best Documentary Feature
A total of 5 films were nominated by members of the society.
LAST DAYS AT SEA
Directed by Venice Atienza
Produced by Venice Atienza
TAO PO
Directed by Mae Paner
Produced by Mae Paner
A WILL TO DREAM
Directed by Patrick Alcedo
Produced by Patrick Alcedo
Best First Feature
A total of 8 films were nominated by members of the society.
KUN MAUPAY MAN IT PANAHON
Directed by Carlo Francisco Manatad
Produced by Josabeth Alonso, Armi Rae Cacanindin, Kriz Gazmen, and Vincent Wang
LAST DAYS AT SEA
Directed by Venice Atienza
Produced by Venice Atienza
MY AMANDA
Directed by Alessandra de Rossi
Produced by E del Mundo
TAO PO
Directed by Mae Paner
Produced by Mae Paner
A WILL TO DREAM
Directed by Patrick Alcedo
Produced by Patrick Alcedo
Best Live Action Short Film
A total of 14 short live-action films were nominated by members of the society. The group previously narrowed down 151 eligible films to a shortlist of 15.
ALINGASNGAS NG MGA KULIGLIG
Directed by Vahn Pascual
Produced by Vahn Pascual and Tim Rone Villanueva
BLACK RAINBOW
Directed by Zig Madamba Dulay
Produced by Elvert Bañares and Tanya Lopez
FILIPIÑANA
Directed by Rafael Manuel
Produced by Kyle Nieva, Naomi Pacifique, and Kiko Meily
KIDS ON FIRE
Directed by Kyle Nieva
Produced by Carlo Francisco Manatad, Kyle Nieva, Maan Villareal, and Anna Weeks
MASKI PAPANO
Directed by Glenn Barit and Che Tagyamon
Produced by Che Tagyamon and Jo Torlao
SA BALAY NI PAPANG
Directed by Kurt Soberano
Produced by Elvert Bañares and Tanya Lopez
Best Documentary Short Film
A total of 15 short documentaries were nominated by members of the society. The group previously narrowed down 47 eligible films to a shortlist of 15.
LINGKIS
Directed by Yvonne Salazar and Sita Valenzuela
Produced by Jake Muñoz
PANAMBI
Directed by Jane Mariane Biyo, Katya Marie Corazon Puertollano, and Myra Angeline Soriaso
Produced by Arden Rod Condez
RANDOM PEOPLE
Directed by Arden Rod Condez
Produced by Arden Rod Condez
THE RIGHT TO LIFE
Directed by Arbi Barbarona
Produced by Arbi Barbarona and Ethel Mendez
RIVER OF TEARS AND RAGE
Directed by Maricon Montajes
Produced by Jola Diones-Mamangun and Raymund Villanueva
TO PICK A FLOWER
Directed by Shireen Seno
Produced by Shireen Seno
Best Animated Short Film
A total of 9 animated short films were nominated by members of the society. The group previously narrowed down 14 eligible films to a shortlist of 10.
ANG AMOMONGGO SA ATON
Directed by Vincent Joseph Entuna
Produced by Rhea Entuna and John Alson Entuna
BLUE IS NOT MY FAVORITE COLOR
Directed by Vahn Pascual
Produced by Vahn Pascual
FLUSH
Directed by Roland Cartagena
Produced by Ray Dom
MARIS
Directed by Gabb Gantala
Produced by Gabb Gantala
MGA ULAP TAYONG NAGIGING ULAN
Directed by Demetrio Celestino III
Produced by Demetrio Celestino III
MY MAMILY
Directed by Cha Roque
Produced by Cha Roque
Winners of the Pinoy Rebyu Awards will be announced on 28 February 2022.
Best International Films
This year, aside from honoring the best of local cinema, SFFR members selected from 112 eligible international films that legally screened in the Philippines in 2021, whether in theaters or streaming platforms, and came up with a list the of the five best:
DRIVE MY CAR
Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Japan
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Directed by Jane Campion
UK, Canada, Australia, & New Zealand
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Directed by Emerald Fennell
UK & US
WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY
Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Japan
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
Directed by Joachim Trier
Norway, France, Sweden, & Denmark
SFFR 