The Philippine Movie Press Club named its 42nd Star Awards for Movies nominees on September 24. Winners are announced October 25 at the Winford Resort and Casino Manila.

I’mPerfect keeps finding a second audience. The 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival Best Picture that most moviegoers skipped in cinemas climbed to No. 1 on Netflix Philippines this month, and now it leads the 42nd PMPC Star Awards for Movies with 13 nominations, the most for any mainstream film this year. Sigrid Andrea Bernardo is nominated as both director and screenwriter; leads Earl Amaba and Krystel Go are up for New Movie Actor and New Movie Actress of the Year, and for Movie Loveteam of the Year as a pair; and Sylvia Sanchez is nominated for Supporting Actress.

The Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC), an organization of entertainment journalists, has handed out the Star Awards for Movies since 1985. The awards run two parallel tracks, a mainstream field and an independent field, each with its own Movie of the Year.

The Mainstream Race

I’mPerfect is up for Movie of the Year against Bar Boys: After School, Call Me Mother, Manila’s Finest, Quezon, The Delivery Rider, and Unmarry. Manila’s Finest and Quezon each have 11 nominations, and their most direct contest is Movie Actor of the Year: Piolo Pascual for Manila’s Finest against Jericho Rosales for Quezon, the film that also led this year’s Gawad Urian nominations. They share the category with JM De Guzman, Vice Ganda, Joshua Garcia, Baron Geisler, and JC Santos.

Movie Actress of the Year is just as stacked. Maricel Soriano (Meet Greet Bye) is nominated alongside Mylene Dizon, Nadine Lustre, Bela Padilla, Angelica Panganiban, Charo Santos-Concio, and Maris Racal.

Sunshine’s Dozen

Racal’s nomination is one of 12 for Sunshine, which leads the independent field. Antoinette Jadaone is nominated as director and screenwriter, Jennica Garcia for Supporting Actress, and Annika Co for Child Performer, and the film picked up craft nominations for Pao Orendain’s cinematography, Benjamin Tolentino’s editing, and Rico Blanco’s score. Its Indie Movie of the Year rivals are Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan, Journeyman, Lasting Moments, Olsen’s Day, Sana Sinabi Mo, and Song of the Fireflies. Lav Diaz is nominated in Indie Movie Director of the Year for Magellan.

The nominations landed two days before Jadaone announced that Sunshine is becoming an immersive stage production in 2027, with Racal reprising the title role.

Names From This Year’s Festival Coverage

Several nominees carry into projects ElysPlanet has been following. Juan Karlos Labajo, nominated for Supporting Actor for Meet Greet Bye, leads CinePanalo’s Mono No Aware. River Joseph, a New Movie Actor nominee for Call Me Mother, co-stars in Stuck on You. Rochelle Pangilinan, nominated for Supporting Actress for Child No. 82, Anak ni Boy Kana, is also in Apol of My Ai. And Ricky Lee, whose screenplay for MMFF 2026’s Amir is in the December lineup, enters the Hall of Fame for Movie Screenwriter of the Year.

Special Awards

Vilma Santos-Recto, who recently said she’s at peace not being named a National Artist, enters the Hall of Fame for Movie Actress of the Year, alongside Lee and sound engineer Albert Michael Idioma. Sharon Cuneta and Rez Cortez receive the Nora Aunor Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award, and Alex Muhlach receives the lifetime award for work behind the camera. The PMPC’s box-office titles, Takilya King and Takilya Queen, go to the two leads of Call Me Mother, Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre.

Winners will be named at the ceremony on October 25. ElysPlanet will have the results.