Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18) – The third installment of comedian Vice Ganda’s ‘Praybeyt Benjamin’ is among the first four official entries to the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival.
MMFF organizers announced on Friday the first batch of entries in a post in their official Facebook page.
‘Praybeyt Benjamin 3,’ which has yet to name a director, will be produced by ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. and Viva Communications, Inc.
The first movie was shown in 2011, and its sequel was the top-grosser in the 2014 MMFF.
Meanwhile, Regal Entertainment follows its tradition of bringing horror flicks with the Joshua Garcia-starrer ‘Ang Mga Kaibigan Ni Mama Susan.’ The film, based on the same title of famed Filipino author Bob Ong’s book, will be helmed by veteran horror movies director Chito Roño. Ong will be the scriptwriter.
Sisters Toni and Alex Gonzaga will star in a comedy-horror film with a working title of ‘The Exorcism Of My Sizzums’ directed by actor Fifth Solomon. This is the Gonzaga sisters’ second MMFF film after ‘Mary, Marry Me’ in 2018. The movie will be produced by Toni’s TinCan Productions.
The fourth entry is fantasy-adventure ‘Magikland’ under Brightlight Leisure Productions, Inc. and Gallaga Reyes Films.
The Christian Acuña-directed film will be headlined by veteran actors Jun Urbano and Bibeth Orteza and a roster of teen artists including Miggs Cuaderno, Joshua Eugenio, and Kenken Nuyad. Blockbuster directors Antoinette Jadaone and Irene Villamor were listed as scriptwriters.
MMFF organizers have yet to set a date to announce the next batch of films.
The MMFF was supposed to hold its first Summer Film Festival in April but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MMFF is a yearly tradition during the Christmas holidays, where eight films are shown for two weeks in all cinemas nationwide.
