Independent anthology film Cleaners by Glenn Barit dominated the 4th edition of the annual Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
In a virtual awards night held Saturday evening (Dec. 12), the film that premiered globally at the 2020 Busan International Film Fest in October became the most decorated entry bagging six awards out of 10 nominations: Best Picture, Best Director for Barit, Best Supporting Actress for Gianne Rivera, Special Citation for Ensemble Performance for Leomar Baloran, Julian Narag, and Carlo Mejia, Best Production Design for Alvin Francisco, and Best Musical Score for Barit.
Jason Paul Laxamana’s He Who Is Without Sin took home four awards, namely Special Jury Prize for Performance in a Lead Role for Elijah Canlas, Best Screenplay for Laxamana, Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Liwanag, and Audience Choice Award for Feature Film Category.
Other big winners of the night were Metamorphosis by J.E. Tiglao, which won the Special Jury Prize for Film, Best Actress Hana Kino for Come On, Irene, Best Actor Gold Azeron for Metamorphosis, and Best Supporting Actor Henyo Ehem for The Highest Peak.
Kintsugi director Lawrence Fajardo was given the Best Editing trophy while The Highest Peak director Arbi Barbarona won for Best Sound Design. The Audience Choice Award for CineMarya Short Film Category is Night Shift by Mariel Ong.
Considered for the #PPP4SamaAll Awards Night nominations were nine out of the 13 films from the Premium Selection Section, which are the ones that had limited releases in the country or had Philippine premieres at PPP4.
The online #PPP4SamaAll Awards Night was streamed on the YouTube channel and Facebook pages of the FDCP. Hosted by Kakki Teodoro, it featured musical performances by Raf Bernardino, Acel Bisa, Bayang Barrios and Naliyagan, Joey Ayala, Ice Seguerra, and Regine Velasquez.
The PPP4, which ran until yesterday, had a 170-film lineup of 90 full-length feature films and 80 short films. The online festival had drawn 8,000 subscribers, held 32 virtual events, and had 64 event partners and supporters.