Film awards in the Philippines

There are many institutions, academies and fellowships in the Philippines that hands out awards, citations and recognitions to outstanding film achievements for a certain calendar year.

The Maria Clara Awards was established in 1950 by The Manila Times. However, it was criticized for being judged only by movie outsiders. In response, a group of writers established the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS Awards) in 1952.

In 1975, the first Metropolitan Film Festival was held in commemoration of the third year anniversary of the continuation of Martial Law.

From 1952 to 1976, the FAMAS was the sole award-giving body for film in the Philippines.

On May 1, 1976, a group of nine film critics and writers formed the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (English: Filipino Film Critics), an organization aiming at giving recognition to Filipino film achievements through the eyes of a film critic. The MPP formed the Gawad Urian Awards, the first award-giving body to contest the long-reigning FAMAS Awards. The Gawad Urian gave a Philippine equivalent to the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. This organization was also created after the first tie in lead categories was recorded in 21st FAMAS Awards in 1973. It was in the Best Actress category, in which both Boots Anson-Roa and Vilma Santos won.

In 1977, the Metropolitan Film Festival was changed to its current name, Metro Manila Film Festival.

During the commercialist era of movies in the 1980s, more award-giving bodies have sprung up to honor film achievements. In 1981, President Ferdinand Marcos passed Executive Order 640-A, which established the Film Academy of the Philippines, the Philippines' official counterpart of the United States' Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The FAP handed out the first Luna Awards (then called the FAP Award until 2005) in 1983 to honor film achievements in 1982.

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