Not even the early downpour and light drizzle could
hinder the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival Parade of Stars from pushing through
last December 24.
The parade started a bit late due to rain and a few other delays but surprisingly managed to finish early, compared to previous years. Stars representing the Festival films started arriving at the Manila Hotel as early as noon for preparations before boarding their respective floats. As expected, the floats were embellished with colorful, flamboyant designs that carried the themes of each movie.
The MMFF films are: Ang Tanging Ina N'yong Lahat, Desperadas 2, Dayo, Baler, Iskul Bukol: 20 Years After, Magkaibigan, One Night Only, and Shake, Rattle and Roll X.
Their respective floats all took turns in egging the excited crowd to troop to the movie houses as part of their Yuletide celebration.
The floats of Iskul Bukol: 20 Years After, Shake, Rattle and Roll X and Desperadas 2 turned out to be instant fan favorites, owing perhaps to their star-studded cast.
Many applauded the organizers for orchestrating a systematic parade this year to make sure that the event would finish early, perhaps to give people enough time to prepare for Christmas Eve.
From the Manila Hotel, the parade breezed through the long stretches of Roxas Boulevard all the way to the SM Mall of Asia where the stars of each film project were formally introduced to the public. The stars themselves appeared to be in a hurry to leave the affair after the quick presentation "para makapagpahinga and makapaghanda tonight," commented ace comedian Vic Sotto.
But some celebs were raring to leave, to avoid the waiting reporters loitering backstage for interviews. One of the most sought-after that afternoon was One Night Only star Katrina Halili, who was obviously uncomfortable about discussing her alleged involvement in the Vicki Belo-Hayden Kho split.
"Pero ayoko na po magsalita e, dedma na lang po," commented the sexy young actress.
Hosting the official
presentation of stars were German "Kuya Germs" Moreno, K Brosas, and Pauleen
Luna.
