Crying Ladies: A winner all the way

It was truly a bountiful harvest for Crying Ladies at the Metro Manila Film Festival awards night last Dec. 27. It won five major awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Mark Meily in his movie debut), Best Actor (Eric Quizon), Best Supporting Actress (Hilda Koronel), and Best Child Performer (Julio Pacheco).

Added to the bumper crop is the People’s Choice for Best Actress, won by Sharon Cuneta.

Earlier the Cinema Evaluation Board graded Crying Ladies A, cited for its topnotch production, artistic, and technical values. And the excellent performances of its actors. Crying Ladies is the only Metro Manila filmfest entry to be graded A.

Crying Ladies is produced by Tony Gloria for Unitel Pictures.

In his acceptance speech for Best Picture, Gloria acknowledged the contributions of the men and women behind Crying Ladies, about 95 percent of whom are young and come from the advertising industry. He also gave special thanks to his actors for their dedication: Sharon, Hilda, Eric, Julio, Angel Aquino, Raymond Bagatsing, and Ricky Davao.

The cinematographer of Crying Ladies is Lee Meily, the wife of the director, calling her, "ilaw ng aming tahanan."

Crying Ladies is the story of three mourners in Chinatown, a vanishing breed in traditional Chinese funerals. Their story is given life in the context of a funeral wake. A heartwarming comedy, Crying Ladies sheds light on the struggles and little dreams of ordinary people living in the back streets of Chinatown.

Sharon is Stella, street smart and ex-convict who dreams of a better job to be able to get back custody of her son Bong (Julio), who she lost to her ex-husband Guido (Ricky).

Hilda is Doray, a bit player whose life revolves around her "glory days" as an "actress" of the ’70s.

Angel is Choleng, a guilt-ridden religious worker as she is carrying on an illicit affair with a married man (Raymond), the husband of her best friend.

These three women accept a part-time job as professional mourners for the funeral of a Chinese businessman, the father of Wilson (Eric), who has unresolved differences with him.

Crying Ladies is based on a Palanca Award-winning script," Bayad Luha, written by the director himself, Mark Meily.