If awards nights are meant to reflect the times, then the 2025 Gabi ng Parangal didn’t just hold up a mirror—it shattered it, swept the glass aside, and rewrote the reflection.
What unfolded at this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival Awards Night was a cinematic plot twist, one that put the overlooked center stage and declared—loudly and without apology—that Philippine cinema has entered a braver chapter.
The night’s emotional and symbolic core was I’mPerfect, a film whose title turned out to be prophecy. Written and directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, the MMFF entry explores the romantic relationship of two adults with Down syndrome—an uncommon story told with uncommon tenderness. By evening’s end, the film had claimed Best Picture, Best Ensemble, and Best Actress for Krystel Go, herself a person with Down syndrome.
In an acceptance speech that stopped the room, Go thanked God for granting her dream. “Higit sa lahat, Lord, tinupad mo po ang pangarap ko, naming lahat—na maging artista.” It was more than gratitude; it was a breakthrough moment made audible.
If I’mPerfect cracked the ceiling, Vice Ganda blew a hole through it. Winning Best Actor for Call Me Mother, Vice portrayed Twinkle, a queer parent fighting to formally adopt her son after the sudden return of the child’s biological mother. Draped in a gown and armed with truth, Vice delivered the line that summed up the night: “A queer person in a gown can be a best actor in 2025. It is about damn time.”
Known for box-office juggernauts, Vice has in recent years veered sharply toward socially charged roles. Last year’s MMFF entry focused on an overseas Filipino worker whose sacrifices collapsed on her return home. This year, Vice admitted she expected another quiet snub—especially from an all-male jury, one of them a priest. Instead, she was seen. “Salamat po, nakita n’yo ako. Kinilala n’yo po ako,” she said. “It is really 2025.”
Completing the evening’s unspoken trilogy was Odette Khan, 79, who reprised her iconic role as Justice Hernandez in the latest Bar Boys. Radiant and resolute, Khan reminded the audience that longevity, too, is a form of rebellion. “I cannot remember when I never acted,” she said. “And I enjoyed every minute of it.”
In the end, the 2025 Gabi ng Parangal did more than hand out trophies. It shifted the frame—rewarding courage, expanding representation, and proving that when cinema finally looks beyond the usual faces, the view is far richer.
