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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Movies and TV devider Luna Awards set for major comeback in its 39th year

Luna Awards set for major comeback in its 39th year

Published Jul 12, 2023 11:31 pm

Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo holds the Luna trophy after she won best actress for the movie 'Mindanao' at the 2020 Luna Awards. (Photo courtesy of the Film Academy of the Philippines)



After a hiatus of two years, the Luna Awards of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) are making a grand comeback in time for the resurgence of local cinema after enduring the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. From themes, technology, and distribution platforms, cinema has metamorphosed into a broader and more diverse art form. It has learned to adapt well to the recent economic challenges as well as the evolving tastes and demands of its audience. Like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon to take on a new form, strength, and power, cinema aims anew to sustain and enrich its classic role - to inspire, provoke, and empower people's lives. It is in this spirit that the 39th Luna Awards will take on and impart. "This year, the Luna Awards will underscore the resurrection of our film industry as it learns from the lessons of the past and prepares for the challenges of tomorrow," said FAP's Officer-in-Charge Manny More, who took over the reins pending the appointment of Director General Vivian Velez's replacement, who resigned last year. As the duly accredited local counterpart of the Academy Awards or The Oscars, FAP is created by virtue of Executive Order 640-A in 1981.
Aside from staging the Luna Awards, it sends the Philippines' entry in the International Feature Film category of The Oscars. It also oversees and assists 10 filmmaking guilds which help determine the Luna winners, on a peer-based judging basis. The guilds have started screening and evaluating outstanding commercially-released Filipino films in 2022. The nominees and winners shall be proclaimed in a ceremony on the date and venue to be announced soon. The 39t Luna Awards is presented by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) and supported by the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation, Inc. (Mowelfund).
It would be recalled that Romeo Cando and Baltazar dela Cruz gave the name for the awards in 2005. There were 221 names submitted to the contest. Cando and Dela Cruz won the prize of ₱5000. The choice of Luna is also a tribute to Filipino painter, sculptor, and activist Juan Luna. In 1981, production designer Angel "Ulay" Tantoco, who was influenced by Luna, created a painting for the design of this statuette. The word "Luna" means moon in various languages. Luna is also the Roman goddess of the moon. It is also can be reflected in the idiom "shoot for the moon" which means to aspire for the seemingly unreachable because winning a Luna Award is something difficult to achieve. Luna is a long-haired woman with a flowing dress which represents the muse of the arts. She holds a wreath and stands on twelve circular steps that represent all the guilds of the academy. She is made of aluminum cast and weighs four kilograms.
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