Lav Diaz’ Halimaw leads FAMAS race with 9 nods

LAV DIAZ’ rock opera, Panahon ng Halimaw, leads this year’s nominations for the annual Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) Awards with nine nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and four Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role nominations for Shaina Magdayao, Bituin Escalante, Pinky Amador, and Hazel Orencio.
Panahon ng Halimaw is followed by Erik Matti’s action film, BuyBust, which garnered eight nominations including one for Outstanding Achievement in Directing.
Jerrold Tarog’s historical epic, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral and Dwein Baltazar’s Oda sa Wala each got seven nominations including Best Picture and Best Director.
Ms. Baltazar was nominated twice each for Best Director and Best Picture for her works Oda sa Wala and Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus.
The FAMAS Award is the oldest existing film industry award-giving body in the Philippines and one of the oldest in Asia having been established in 1952.
The award is given by FAMAS, an organization composed of writers and movie critics.
This year’s jury will be headed once again by screenwriter Ricky Lee. He also headed the jury in 2018.
The awarding ceremony will be on April 28 at the Meralco Theater in Pasig City.
Following is the list of nominees:
• Best Picture — Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes; Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; A Short History of a Few Bad Things; Dog Days; Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral; Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus; Kung Paano Siya Nawala; Never Not Love You; Never Tear Us Apart a.k.a Fisting; Oda sa Wala
• Best Director — Whammy Alcazaren, Never Tear Us Apart a.k.a Fisting; Dwein Baltazar, Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus; Dwein Baltazar, Oda sa Wala; Lav Diaz, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; Timmy Harn, Dog Days; Erik Matti, BuyBust; Joel Ruiz, Kung Paano Siya Nawala; Jerrold Tarog, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral
• Best Actress — Judy Ann Santos, Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes; Gabby Padilla, Billie & Emma; Perla Bautista, Kung Paano Hinhintay Ang Dapithapon; Angelica Panganiban, Exes Baggage; Glaiza de Castro, Liway; Iyah Mina, Mamu, And a Mother Too; Sarah Geronimo, Miss Granny; Nadine Lustre, Never Not Love You; Marietta Subong, Oda sa Wala; Anne Curtis, Sid & Aya: Not A Love Story
• Best Actor — Eddie Garcia, ML; Alwyn Uytingco, Asuang; Victor Neri, A Short History of A Few Bad Things; Carlo Aquino, Exes Baggage; JM de Guzman, Kung Paano Siya Nawala; Dante Rivero, Kung Paano Hinihintay Ang Dapithapon; James Reid, Never Not Love You; Mon Confiado, El Peste; Christian Bables, Signal Rock; Daniel Padilla, The Hows of Us; Ybes Bagadiong, Dog Days
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role — Shaina Magdayao, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; Hazel Orencio, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; Bituin Escalante, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; Pinky Amador, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; Cherie Gil, Citizen Jake; Daria Ramirez, Signal Rock; Agot Isidro, Kung Paano Siya Nawala; Adrienne Vergara, Dog Days; Mary Joy Apostol, Hospicio; Cielo Aquino, Billie & Emma
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role — Publio Briones III, A Short History of a Few Bad Things; Levi Ignacio, BuyBust; Arjo Atayde, BuyBust; Teroy Guzman, Citizen Jake; Gabby Eigenmann, Citizen Jake; Joem Bascon, Double Twisting Double Back; Soliman Cruz, Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus; Menggie Cobarrubias, Kung Paano Hinihintay Ang Dapithapon; Richard “Ebong” Joson, Liway; Arron Villaflor, Mamu, And a Mother Too; Nanding Josef, Signal Rock
• Best Visual Effects — Dennis Rejoy, John Vincent Suarez Alimuom Gem Garcia, Ernest Villanueva & UpprGrnd Aurora Mothership, Inc., BuyBust; Blackburst, Inc., Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral
• Best Sound — Corinne de San Jose, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; Whannie Dellosa, BuyBust; Albert Michael Idioma, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral; Axel Fernandez, Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus; Alan Caro, Musmos Na Sumibol Sa Gubat Ng Digma; Immanuel Verona, We Will Not Die Tonight
• Best Musical Score — Sewage Worker/Marcus Adoro, Dog Days; Hiroko Nagai and Harold Andre Cruz Santos, Double Twisting Double Back; Jerrold Tarog, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral; Emerzon Texon, Meet Me In St. Gallen; Fergus Cronkite, Melodrama/Random/Melbourne
Erwin Romulo and Malek Lopez, Never Tear Us Apart a.k.a Fisting; Kurt Alalag, Ma-I Guia Padilla and Marc Tan, Tanabata’s Wife
• Best Song — “Mula sa Ilalim ng Lupa,” Ang Panahon ng Halimaw (music and lyrics by Lav Diaz); “Akala,” The Day After Valentine’s (music and lyrics by Marion Aunor); “Isa pang Araw,” Miss Granny (music and lyrics by Miguel Mendoza); “Buhay Teatro,” Paglisan (music by Teresa Barrozo, lyrics by Christela Marquez, Aica Ganhinhin, Carl Papa and Erika Estacio); “Ikaw,” Paglisan (music and lyrics by Lloyd Oliver and Tiny Corpuz); “Sa’yo Na,” Rainbow’s Sunset (music and lyrics by Emerzon Texon); “Heartbeats,” Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story (music and lyrics by Chris Valera & Alessandra De Rossi)
• Best Production Design — Michael Espanol and Roma Regala, BuyBust; Richard Somes, El Peste; Roy Lachica, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral; Marielle Hizon, Kung Paano Hinihintay Ang Dapithapon; Maolen Fadul, Oda sa Wala; Alvin Francisco, Pan De Salawal; Norico Santos, The Hows of Us; Ericsson Navarro, Unli Life; Thesa Tang, Never Tear Us Apart a.k.a. Fisting
• Best Editing — Maria Estela Paiso and Keith Deligero, A Short History of A Few Bad Things; Jay Halili, BuyBust; John Torres and Mervine Aquino, Dog Days; Apol Dating, Double Twisting Double Back; Lawrence S. Ang, Kung Paano Siya Nawala; Ilsa Malsi, Never Tear Us Apart a.k.a Fisting; Dwein Baltazar, Oda sa Wala; Hiyas Baldemor Bagabaldo, Pag-ukit sa Paniniwala; Ilsa Malsi, Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus
• Best Cinematography — Neil Daza, Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus; Neil Bion, BuyBust; Pong Ignacio, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral; Mycko David, Never Not Love You; Sasha Palomares, Never Tear Us Apart a.k.a. Fisting; Neil Daza, Oda sa Wala; Tey Clamor, Pan De Salawal; Albert Banzon and Jippy Pascua, Dog Days; Nap Jamir, Tanabata’s Wife
• Best Adapted Screenplay — Keith Sicat, Alimuom (based on the graphic novel Outerspace Filipino Workers by Keith Sicat); Juan Miguel Severo, Hintayan Ng Langit (based on his own one-act play); Jinky Laurel, Miss Granny (based on the 2014 Korean film of the same title written by Shin Dong-ik, Hong Yoon-jeon, and Dong Hee-seon); Rinka Sycip, Para sa Broken Hearted (based on the novel of the same title by Marcelo Santos II); Charlson L. Ong, Choy Pangilinan, Mao Portus, and Juan Carlos Tarobal, Tanabata’s Wife (based on the short story of the same title by Sinai Hamada)
• Best Original Screenplay — Paul Grant, A Short History of a Few Bad Things; Jun Lana and Elmer Gatchalian, Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes; Lav Diaz, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; Marius Talampas, Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap; Carl Papa, Rayn Brizuela, and Lawrence Nicodemus, Asuang; Dwein Baltazar, Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus; Dwein Baltazar, Oda sa Wala; Rody Vera, Signal Rock; Jason Paul Laxamana, So Connected
• Best Short Film — Baguio Address No. 10, Mervine Aquino; Manila is full of Men Named Boy, Andrew Stephen Lee; ‘Wag Mo kong kausapin (Please Stop Talking), Josef Gacutan; Siyudad sa Bulawan (City of Gold), Jarell Serencio; Gabi ng Kababalaghan (Mysteries of the Night), Stephen Lopez
Pulangui, Bagane Fiola; Tembong (Connecting), Shaira Advincula; Sa Among Agwat (In Between Spaces), Don Senoc; Balai (Home), Klarisse Purugganan; Madugo ang Gabi, Alex Torres
• Best Documentary — All Grown Up, Wena Sanchez; Call Her Ganda, PJ Raval; Pag-ukit sa Paniniwala, Hiyas Baldemor Bagabaldo
— Zsarlene B. Chua