Honor Thy Father, the much talked-about and slightly controversial entry in last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, just won a new international award: it’s the Best Asian Film in the 15th Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) over in Switzerland.
The NIFFF is not the most well-known film fest out there, but one more accolade surely couldn’t hurt director Erik Matti’s movie, which was disqualified from the MMFF’s Best Picture category. Matti has already entered 2002’s Gagamboy and 2013’s Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles in this film fest.
Honor Thy Father was DQed shadily in the middle of its run (and a day before the awarding ceremony), namely for also entering it in the Cinema One Originals Film Festival. There was a hearing in Congress and everything, and now, although this may not be the biggest reason, commercial viability is no longer a criteria for Best Picture this year.
Meanwhile, we’re glad Honor Thy Father is still having its day in the sun—congratulations to Matti and everyone involved.