Janine Gutierrez is scheduled to accept posthumous awards for her grandmothers
LOS ANGELES — National Artist Nora Aunor and singer-actress Pilita Corrales will be honored posthumously as the Manila International Film Festival returns to Los Angeles for its third edition Sept. 3-6.
MIFF said Aunor and Corrales will each receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival’s Closing Night Awards Gala on Sunday, Sept. 6, at The Beverly Hilton. Actress Janine Gutierrez, a granddaughter of both women, is scheduled to accept the honors on behalf of their families.
Aunor and Corrales, whose careers helped shape different eras of Philippine entertainment, died four days apart in April 2025.
Aunor, who died April 16 at 71, worked for more than five decades across film, television and music. Born Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, she built a body of work that included Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos, Bona, Himala, Bulaklak sa City Jail and The Flor Contemplacion Story. She was proclaimed National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022 and received a state funeral after her death.
Corrales died April 12 at 85. Known professionally as “Asia’s Queen of Songs,” she had a career spanning music, radio, television and film in the Philippines and abroad. The title became associated with her after her success at the Tokyo Music Festival in 1972. In 2023, the University of the Philippines Asian Center presented her with its first Asia Culture Award.
Aunor and Corrales were also among the Filipino cultural figures posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in May 2025.
The closing gala will extend that recognition to a newer generation of Filipino and Filipino American artists working across film, television, theater and animation.
Writers-directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado and members of the voice cast of DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island are scheduled to receive MIFF’s Trailblazer Award.
The animated feature follows longtime friends Jo and Raissa, voiced by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, who are transported to the fictional island of Nakali and encounter creatures inspired by stories passed down through Filipino families.
Its voice cast also includes Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng and Lea Salonga. DreamWorks has scheduled the film for U.S. theatrical release Sept. 25.
Actress BarBara Luna is also among the festival’s Trailblazer Award honorees. Luna’s career includes the original Star Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror,” in which she played Marlena Moreau, as well as the films The Devil at 4 O’Clock and Ship of Fools. MIFF also named Priscilla Hunt as a recipient of the award.
The festival will introduce a Generations Award for the Briones family: Jon Jon Briones, his wife Megan and their children Isa and Teo.
Jon Jon Briones appeared in the original Miss Saigon company and later played the Engineer in productions in the Philippines, Europe and the United States, including the Broadway revival. He and Isa Briones later appeared together on Broadway in Hadestown, playing Hermes and Eurydice.
Isa Briones’ screen work includes Star Trek: Picard and The Pitt, while Teo Briones has appeared in Chucky and Final Destination Bloodlines. Megan Briones’ stage credits include Miss Saigon.
Lea Salonga, the Briones family and the team behind DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island are also among the honorees
Lea Salonga, previously announced as the recipient of MIFF’s Icon Award, will also be featured in a festival retrospective with Sana Maulit Muli and The Vale: Origins.
Her MIFF appearance comes during another significant week in Hollywood. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to dedicate Salonga’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sept. 4, making her the first Filipina to receive a Walk of Fame star.
MIFF said the Sept. 6 gala will be hosted by entertainment personality Erin Lim Rhodes, actor Mark Dacascos and fashion designer and Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel.
Rapper Ruby Ibarra and singer Carl Angelo are scheduled to perform “Salbahe Ako,” a track from the Forgotten Islandsoundtrack. Festival organizers also announced expected appearances by Lou Diamond Phillips, Dante Basco, Jericho Rosales, Karylle and filmmaker Raymond Red.
MIFF is also expanding its film program with two features it is presenting as world premieres.
Bench: Body of Work, directed by Tom Lowry, follows Philippine clothing company BENCH as it returned to the runway after an eight-year absence.
Francis dela Torre’s East of Western, starring Dante Basco, Darion Basco and Dionysio Basco, is set in Los Angeles, including Historic Filipinotown.
Five short films presented with FilAm Creative are also part of the program: Ralph Torrefranca’s Jamie & Lina Write the Greatest Song Ever, Serville Poblette’s In the Morning, Meg Mateo’s You Could Have Been a Nurse, San-San Onglatco’s Naughty Maids and Alex Cruz’s Silim.
The shorts join a lineup that includes 58th, Eddie Romero Remastered: A Century of Filipino Cinema, Kappa-Tiran, Pinay, Qu
Industry programming includes an animation panel and the workshop “How to Awards Season Your Film 4.0.”
