Hollywood may have wrapped up its award-giving season in March, but its local counterpart in the Philippines has yet to start rolling out the red carpet for the top achievers of the 2025 film season.
The first mainstream group to honor its top picks on July 5 is the entertainment editors’ Eddys, followed thereafter by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (Famas), the show biz press’ Star Awards, and the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the critics group that’s celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
We’re jumping on the awards-season bandwagon by revisiting not just our favorite performances but also the best films from 102 local full-length films released on the big screen last year.
Yes, we patiently sat through all of them while focusing on film festival selections. After all, you can’t claim any real credibility as an award-giver if your entire watchlist consists only of 25 to 30 films out of a hundred.
For example, if we only watched mainstream films or those that trended on social media, JM de Guzman for “Lasting Moments,” Leo Rialp for “Finding Santos,” and Ruby Ruiz for “Outside de Familia” wouldn’t make the list at all. A film buff’s devotion to Filipino cinema demands patience and consistency, not just lip service.
Through the years, film festivals have always been a rich and reliable source of cinematic gems, with stories and themes that actors can sink their teeth into. For instance, Cinemalaya and CinePanalo have four titles each in our top 20.
On the other hand, Sinag Maynila fielded its weakest lineup since it began in 2015 but bounced back with a vengeance this year, bolstered by a lineup that included Cris Fuego’s Visayan crowd-pleaser “Pinikas (Halved).”
It’s interesting to note that 37 of 2025’s total output came from Cinemalaya, CinePanalo, Sinag Maynila, CineSilip and the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Only one local movie (“Sampung Utos Kay Josh”) was released in January, but 24 titles were shown in October.
The top 3 highest-grossing films of 2025 were all produced by Star Cinema: Vice Ganda’s “Call Me Mother” (P392 million), the star-studded “Meet, Greet & Bye,” and the KimPau starrer “My Love Will Make You Disappear.”
The year’s most prolific actors were Ruby Ruiz and JC Santos—with seven films each! Ruby was seen in “Tigkiliwi,” “Journeyman,” “Sepak Takraw,” “Outside de Familia,” “Mudrasta, Ang Beking Ina,” “Everyone Knows Every Juan” and “Everything About My Wife,” while JC appeared in “Cande,” “Journeyman,” “Meg & Ryan,” “100 Awit Para kay Stella,” “The Last Beergin,” “Quezon” and “I Remember You.”
JM Ibarra (“Child No. 82: Anak ni Boy Kana”) and Andres Muhlach (“Minamahal:100 Bulaklak Para Kay Luna”) were the year’s breakout stars. But the indelible turns of Miguel Odron in “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking,” Lance Reblando in “Warla” and EJ Jallorina in “Dreamboi” were also significant.
Leading the charge on our list of favorite films is Antoinette Jadaone’s Berlin-winning drama “Sunshine,” which, in our view, should have been the country’s pick for Best International Feature at the Oscars early this year.
Jerrold Tarog’s visually stunning and emotionally charged biopic “Quezon” would have easily made our top 5 if it didn’t unfairly eviscerate Manuel Quezon’s character. Like a slap on the face, the deeply polarizing production holds a mirror up to injustice and political corruption in the country’s highest offices, but you leave the theater wondering if Quezon himself had any saving grace at all given his unflattering depiction in the biopic. You almost forget how he had also championed laborers’ cause and granted women the right to vote.
In contrast, Arjanmar Rebeta and Jeffrey Jeturian’s genre-bending biopic “Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus” also proffers tantalizing conjectures about its protagonist’s personal and political affairs, but it does so without demolishing our memory of Andres Bonifacio’s fabled better half.
Cleverly strung together by producer Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s meta-style troubleshooting, it straddles the delicate line between fact and fiction—or art and history—as it bridges the bonds forged by love and loyalty. This hauntingly reverential “Lakambini” is truly in a class all its own.
As we mentioned in an earlier CoverStory report, it would have been easier to embrace Dustin Celestino’s “Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan” if its gut-punching impact weren’t diluted by allegations of collusion in the flood control scandals hurled at the family of one of its producers.
In “Mananambal,” released two months before Nora Aunor’s death in April 2025, the Superstar demonstrated how her fabled restraint and formidable screen presence could single-handedly elevate a deeply flawed cautionary horror drama with shoddy special effects.
Meanwhile, we believe that feature films and documentaries are distinct categories that shouldn’t be measured against each other. In our view, the finest docus are inherently more effective because they capture real-world stakes and raw reality whose progression isn’t curated or dictated by a screenwriter’s imagination.
Our top docus from last year are Baby Ruth Villarama’s “Food Delivery: Fresh From the West Philippine Sea,” Noni Abao’s “Bloom Where You are Planted” and Maria Diane Ventura’s “Eraserheads: Combo on the Run.”
While the individual struggles of Agnes Mesina, Amanda Echanis and Randy Malayao are more cohesively strung together in “Bloom” than the fishermen’s tales in “Food Delivery,” it would be foolhardy to play down the thematic urgency and global relevance of the acclaimed documentary about the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines.
For its part, “Eraserheads: Combo on the Run” doesn’t just take music lovers on a trip down memory lane, it also demystifies the most iconic OPM rock band of the ‘90s as we witness Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and the controversial Marcus Adoro take the music world by storm, disband amidst personal and professional conflicts, and finally work up the courage to set aside their differences and make great music again.
Here are our top choices:
Full-length film
Winner: “Sunshine” by Antoinette Jadaone
The coming-of-age drama provides no easy solutions as it explores the harsh repercussions of teenage pregnancy. The extent to which principles of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights should take precedence over established ethical and moral norms remains a subject of heated debates, especially in conservative countries like the Philippines.
Runner-up: “Only We Know” by Irene Villamor
This exhilaratingly poignant film charts the intergenerational relationship forged between a grieving widower (Dingdong Dantes) and his lonely older neighbor (Charo Santos-Concio). Against all odds, they prove that true devotion can transcend restrictions and boundaries.
Rounding out the top 10 (listed in order of preference):
Rebeta and Jeturian’s “Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus,” TM Malones’ “Salum,” Sari Dalena’s “Cinemartyrs,” Petersen Vargas’ “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking,” Renei Dimla’s “Republika ng Pipolipinas,” Dustin Celestino’s “Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan,” Raymond Red’s “Manila’s Finest” and Lav Diaz’s “Magellan”
Completing the top 20:
Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Unmarry,” Tarog’s “Quezon,” Dominic and Christian Paolo Lat’s “Journeyman,” Rodina Singh’s “Dreamboi,” Dodo Dayao’s “Berbalang” episode in “KMJS Gabi ng Lagim: The Movie,” JP Habac’s “Olsen’s Day,” Lino Cayetano’s “Salvageland,” Tara Illenberger’s “Tigkiliwi,” Fifth Solomon’s “Lasting Moments” and Jun Robles Lana’s “Call Me Mother”
Lead actor
Winner: JM de Guzman in “Lasting Moments”
The actor’s harrowing portrait of alcoholism, whether as a disgraced history teacher in “Lasting Moments” or as a troubled musician in “Paquil,” is worth its weight in gold. It places viewers on a ringside seat to De Guzman’s inner turmoil, real or imagined.
Runner-up: Dingdong Dantes in “Only We know”
In this heartfelt May-December tale, GMA 7’s top leading man sheds his tough exterior, bravely letting his rarely shared vulnerability step into the spotlight.
Other notable performances:
Allen Dizon (in “Salum”), Jojit Lorenzo (“Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan”), JC Santos (“Journeyman,” “Meg & Ryan”), Elijah Canlas (“Raging”), Joshua Garcia (“Meet, Greet & Bye”), Khalil Ramos (“Olsen’s Day”), Jericho Rosales (“Quezon”), Vice Ganda (“Call Me Mother”), Zanjoe Marudo (“How to Get Away from My Toxic Family,” “Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan”) and Piolo Pascual (“The Ride,” “Manila’s Finest”)
Lead actress
Winner: Maris Racal in “Sunshine”
In the finest performance of her career, the 28-year-old actress limns with unflinching conviction her complex characterization of an Olympics-bound gymnast who suddenly finds herself torn between her Catholic guilt and ambition.
Runners-up: A tossup between Charo Santos-Concio in “Only We Know” and Ruby Ruiz in “Outside de Familia”
While Santos-Concio gracefully navigates loneliness, healing and the beauty of uncomplicated companionship, Ruiz shuttles between heartbreaking drama and rip-roaring comedy with prodigious ease.
Other notable performances:
Geraldine Villamil (“Republika ng Pipolipinas”), Mylene Dizon and Dolly de Leon (“Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan”), Angelica Panganiban (“Unmarry”), Gina Pareño, Lovi Poe and Elora Españo (“Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus”), Rhian Ramos (“Meg & Ryan”), Sue Ramirez (“Flower Girl,” “Lasting Moments”), Jodi Sta. Maria (“Untold”) and Krystel Go (“I’mperfect”)
Supporting actor
Winner: Nanding Josef in “Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan”
Tata Nanding is both terrifying and vulnerable as a geriatric former general and martial law enforcer whose unspeakable cruelty is dulled by rapidly accelerating dementia.
Runner-up: Mon Confiado in “Quezon”
As Emilio Aguinaldo in “Quezon,” Confiado delivers a nuanced portrait of the misunderstood man behind the larger-than-life persona.
Other notable performances:
Lucas Andalio (“Call Me Mother”), Tom Rodriguez (“Unmarry”), Richard Gomez (“Salvageland”), Leo Rialp (“Finding Santos”), Jomari Angeles (“Some Nights I Feel Like Walking”) and Migs Almendras (“Dreamboi”)
Supporting actress
Winner: Jennica Garcia in “Sunshine”
Garcia imbues her role as Maris Racal’s doting big sister with empathy, clarity and insight.
Runner-up: Ruby Ruiz (in “Sepak Takraw” or “Everyone Knows Every Juan”)
At this point in her reinvigorated career, Philippine cinema’s busiest actress can turn even a deceptively insignificant character into a veritable game-changer.
Other notable performances:
Nora Aunor (“Mananambal”), Odette Khan (“Bar Boys: After School”), Peewee O’Hara (“Outside de Familia”), Christine Mary Demaisip (“Salum”), Shai Barcia (“Altar Boy”) and Alessandra de Rossi as herself in “Republika ng Pipolipinas”
Ensemble
Winner: “Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan” by Dustin Celestino
The emotionally charged synergy of Mylene Dizon, Zanjoe Marudo, Dolly de Leon, Jojit Lorenzo, Anna Luna, Andoy Ranay, Frances Makil-Ignacio and Nanding Josef makes “Hydra” greater than the sum of their individual contributions. There’s no throwaway character—or actor—in this blistering polemic against corruption and generational trauma.
Runner-up: “Open Endings” by Nigel Santos
The fun and fizzy lesbian-themed film plays well to the synchronized strengths of its charismatic actresses, namely Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Janella Salvador, Leanne Mamonong and Klea Pineda.
Other proficiently realized films that benefitted from the collective competence of their actors:
“Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” (with Miguel Odron, Jomari Angeles, Prince Argel Saycon, Tommy Alejandrino and Gold Aceron) and the star-studded teams of “Quezon,” “Everyone Knows Every Juan” and “Ang Happy Homes ni Diane Hilario.” CS
