The Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors founding member Nestor Cuartero perfectly defined what it means to win an Eddy at the very opening of 2019’s Entertainment Editors’ Choice for Movies on Sunday Night at the New Frontier Theater.
Also a long-time professor of Journalism at UST, the retired editor of Tempo and current Manila Bulletin Entertainment columnist lengthily but necessarily explained, “During the first Eddys in 2017, our members looked at each other with surprise when the names of the winners were being announced. It happened that we didn’t have any idea who the winners were as the voting was done in secret.
“A downside was that some of the awardees failed to attend the ceremony [since] it has been common practice among most award bodies to leak the names of winners a day before to ensure the stars’ attendance.
“[But] such is not the case at The Eddys in our effort to maintain the group’s integrity and credibility… [alongside] our goal to encourage Filipino filmmakers, producers, screen writers, actors and other allied artists in the local movie industry to continue their passion for creating films with both artistry and substance [in this] irreplaceable medium [that is] in the wake of quite real threats from TV, cable, new media, the Internet.”
And in impressing upon the most star-studded edition of The Eddys to date the need for unity in preserving the magic, power and presence of the Filipino movie, the likes of Dingdong Dantes (“Sid and Aya”), The Eddys Best Actor winner for 2019 clearly understood the purpose of SPEEd and the true meaning of what it is to win.
Rushing from commitments in Caloocan to his Makati residence to dress up in the requested Filipiñiana attire of the night — and without a clue whether he would win over the likes of the late great Eddie Garcia (“Rainbow’s Sunset) and sought after peers Piolo Pascual (“Ang Panahon ng Halimaw”), Carlo Aquino (“Exes Baggage”), Christian Bables (“Signal Rock”), Daniel Padilla (“The Hows of Us”) and Paolo Contis (“Through Night & Day)—Dantes attended the Eddys, genuinely surprised to win his very first acting plum.
Humbled by the sight of many of the biggest and brightest names in Philippine Cinema’s modern history eager to hear his speech, Dantes rightfully expressed, “Sino bang hindi matutuwa na mabigyan ng ganitong pagkilala, lalo na kasama ang magagaling na artista.”
And as he dedicated his award to the recently fallen movie legend Garcia, Dantes thanked him for the many lessons he learned from the man just from the industry’s endless anecdotes about him.
“I think ‘yun ang mga bagay na dapat tularan ng ating bagong henerasyon, mga bagay na dapat tularan natin bilang artista. Dahil sa dulo ng lahat, hindi naman siguro maaalala kung ilang pelikula ang nagawa, but kung gaano kaganda ang mga relationships that you built in the process. Kaya sa Eddys maraming salamat.”
Fittingly, The Eddys raised the curtain with a tribute to the recently fallen actor-director whom SPEEd named as one of its first Eddys Icons of Philippine Cinema in last year’s edition. The multi-awarded actor-director who is practically a Hall of Famer across various movie award-giving bodies had always set the perfect example in the industry. He personally acknowledged every recognition given to him, big or small, with his presence, win or lose.
Garcia was and is a true winner, with Dingdong Dantes now in his stead.
Irreplaceable moment
Given Garcia’s example and SPEEd’s clear vision for The Eddys, the jampacked audience at NFT on Sunday felt the loss of an irreplaceable moment for other winners of acting awards who for one reason or another did not attend the evening of recognition.
With part of the gallery teaming with Kathryn Bernardo fans, a riveting air of excitement surrounded the announcement of The Eddys Best Actress. Deafening shrieks of joy erupted when her name was called (for “The Hows of Us”) but replaced with heavy disappointment from her supporters when the actress was no where in sight.
The same feeling of regret surrounded the wins of Best Supporting Actor Arjo Atayde (“BuyBust”) and Best Supporting Actress Max Collins (“Citizen Jake”) who missed winning against fellow nominees who were admirably present, namely Tirso Cruz 3rd, Ricky Davao, Joross Gamboa and Pinky Amador.
Dazzling coup
Impressively hosted by multi-awarded broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez-Roxas, the third edition of The Eddys staged anew a dazzling coup across a number of major highlights through the program.
After pioneering a long overdue endeavor of naming unquestionably deserving actors as Icons of Philippine Cinema in 2018, The Eddys named its second batch of legendary actors in the industry. Present in full force to savor the recognition as Eddys Icons of Philippine Cinema were Tirso Cruz 3rd, Christopher de Leon, Eddie Gutierrez, Dante Rivero and Lorna Tolentino, with grandson Alfonso Martinez representing the great Amalia Fuentes and former Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada his father, former president and Manila mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
Meanwhile, to commemorate 100 Years of Philippine Cinema, The Eddys in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines under its chairman Liza Diño gathered a sterling group of producers, directors and actors whose various contributions to Filipino film through the decades have been priceless. Dubbed the “Parangal sa Sandaan,” the impressive list of awardees included Tommy Abuel, Tony Mabesa, Pepito Rodriguez, Perla Rodriguez, Lorli Villanueva, Robert Arevalo, Rustica Carpio, Val Campbell, Lucy Quinto, Romy Peralta, Romy Vitug, Vic Delotavo, Armida Siguion- Reyna (posthumous), Val Iglesias, Rosa Rosal, and Odette Khan.
Six of The Eddys traditional special awards were also given out on this night of distinguished recognitions, namely The Joe Quirino Award to TV-radio host-columnist Cristy Fermin; The Manny Pichel Award to beloved veteran entertainment columnist and talent manager Ethel Ramos; the Rising Producers’ Circle Award jointly to Spring Films and T-Rex Entertainment, received by their principals Piolo Pascual and Rex Tiri, respectively; Producer of the Year to Star Cinema; the Lifetime Achievement Award to director Elwood Perez; and a Posthumous Award for the late Comedy King, Dolphy, which was accepted by son Eric Quizon.
Quotable quotes
In an evening filled with joyful, inspiring and touching speeches, The Manila Times Entertainment gathered the most applauded quotes of the highly successful, star-studded and surprise-filled Eddys 2019.
Cristy Fermin: “Naalala ko, nasa gitna po kami ng bukid, nakikipanood ng isang programa sa telebisyon tuwing linggo ng gabi. ‘Yun po ay isang bahay ng mayaman na ang telebisyon ay pinaaandar ng baterya ng sasakyan. Nakikisilip po kami sa bintana. Sa programang iyon, napakinggan ko ang mga pangalang Bert De Vera, Gary Bautista, Dulce at marami pa pong mga dancers at singers.
“Eddys, maraming-maraming salamat dahil ang aking kahapon, dinuktungan niyo ngayon, Maraming salamat sa parangal na ito. At sa pamilya po ni Tito Joe Quirino, itatago ko po ang tropeyong ito sa puso ko ng habang panahon.”
Piolo Pascual: “Ten years po ng Spring Films ngayon. Ang binigay ng Eddys sa amin is a testament for us to be more motivated and be inspired to do more films because the reason we’re here, the reason we exist is because of all the love for cinema so para din po ito sa 100 years of Philippine cinema.”
Eric Quizon: “Binisita ko ang puntod ng Daddy (Dolphy) ko. Pag dating ko dun, nalungkot ako kasi madumi siya, it’s so dusty. Sabi ko sa driver ko, abutan ko ng panglinis para ayusin ko. Pag dating ko dun, bago ko ipunas yung towel, there’s so many finger writings on the dust sa tomb ng Daddy ko. Nakalagay dun, ‘We love you forever,’ ‘Idol ka namin,’ ‘You’re the best.’
“So sabi ko, ika nga ni Catriona Gray, ‘We look for the beauty in the bad and we look for the silver lining.’ So kung parating nililinis yung tomb ng Daddy ko, hindi ko makikita yung mga nakasulat doon na talaga namang nakakataba ng puso. I’d like to thank this opportunity to thank this people that up to now, still idolize him. Sa lahat ng nagmamahal sa Daddy ko, maraming maraming salamat sa inyo.”
Big wins
“Liway”— an independent film which was set in the mid-1980s in Camp Delgado, a prison for criminals and political prisoners alike during Martial Law — emerged as the big winner of the night. Besides earning the Best Picture Award, they garnered Best Editing and Best Screenplay plums too.
In an interview with The Manila Times, director Kip Oebanda said, “Di namin in-expect manalo; ‘di nga kami nakabihis at naka-prepare ng speech. We were really caught off guard ang we’re surprised. Thank you naman at na-appreciate nila yung movie namin and hopefully it helps us spread the film and its message far and wide.”
“I’m such a fan of the other nominees. Sobrang mahal na mahal ko yung mga pelikula last year. Ang daming magagandang pelikula last 2018 na arguably, any film could’ve taken the Best Picture award. I’m such in awe of the other films so it’s a good sign for Philippine cinema na ang daming magagandang pelikula especially in 2018 kaya hindi namin siya expected,” Oebanda continued.
“In fact personally, hindi ako super fan ng awards as a metric of success. For me the metric talaga is kung totoo talaga yung ginagawang pelikula to who you are as a filmmaker. Because later on, when you pass on this life, that’s not what you bring with you, it’s how you connected to people — that’s more important,” he ended.
Liway bested other Best Picture nominees “Citizen Jake,” “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral,” “Rainbow’s Sunset,” and “Signal Rock.”
The rest of the winning roster of Eddys 2019 is as follows:
Best Director- Joel Lamangan (Rainbow’s Sunset”)
Best Screenplay- Zig Dulay (“Liway”)
Best Cinematography- “Aurora”
Best Production Design- “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral”
Best Editing- “Liway”
Best Visual Effects- “Aurora”
Best Musical Score- “Bakwit Boys”
Best Sound Design- “Bakwit Boys”
Produced by Echo Jham Entertainment, led by director Calvin Neria, The Eddys 2019 will be aired on Cignal TV’s Colours Channel on July 21 at 9:00 p.m.
