The Luna Awards are awards given annually by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) to recognize the outstanding achievements of the Filipino film industry. The first awards were presented in 1983 in Pasay. It is considered to be the Philippine counterpart of the Oscars. It used to be known as the FAP Awards until in 2005 when it got its current name. Since 2007, the Academy started holding simple awards ceremonies due to lack of government funding and reduction of its share from MMFF earnings.
History In 1981, the Executive Order 640-A was passed by then President Ferdinand Marcos. The order mandated that the Film Academy of the Philippines should recognize outstanding film achievements annually.
The first awards was presented on April 27, 1983, in Manila Film Center which gave awards to the best films of 1982. It was known as the Film Academy of the Philippines Awards, shortened as FAP Awards.
In 2005, FAP held a naming contest to give a unique name for the awards and Luna was chosen.
The awards for 2009 films (28th Luna Awards) were not given due to budget constraints. The academy still count it as part of the numbering pattern of the awards even though it was not held.
Statuette In 2005, Luna was chosen as the new name for the awards from the 221 names submitted to the contest. Romeo Cando and Baltazar dela Cruz won the prize of ₱5000 for naming it.
The word "Luna" means moon in different languages. Luna is also the Roman goddess of moon. It is also can be reflected in the idiom "shoot for the moon" which means to aspire for the seemingly unreachable because winning a Luna Award is something difficult to achieve.
Indirectly, the choice of Luna is also a way to pay homage to Juan Luna. A painting which was made by Luna inspired production designer Angel "Ulay" Tantoco in making the design of this statuette in 1981.
Luna is a long-haired woman with a flowing dress which represents the muse of arts. She holds a wreath and stands on twelve circular steps that represent all of the guilds of the academy. She is made of aluminum cast and weighs four kilograms.
Voting process For a film to eligible, it should be released and have a commercial run for at least three days from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year. The voting process of Luna Awards was formulated by the academy with the help of Asian Institute of Management (AIM). It was partially implemented in 2004 and fully implemented in 2005. It is done by a three-body system composed of the citers, nominators and voters. A citer can also be a voter but cannot be a nominator.
The citers indicate whether a work should be cited or not. The cited works move on the next round. Ten seats are allocated for each guild focused on the professions of: Direction Performance Screenplay Cinematography Production Design Editing Musical Score Sound Another ten seats are allocated for a non-category guild, totaling to 90 seats.
In the second round, a nominator should be a previous nominee in any major film awards like Luna, FAMAS, Urian and Metro Manila Film Festival. Five seats are assigned for each profession, adding up to 40 seats. They would rank all cited works from best to worst, with the two to five highest scorers becoming the nominees. To become a nominee in Best Picture, a film should have three nominations and one of these nominations should be in Best Direction or Best Screenplay.
The nominees would then move on the last round where voters would cast their votes. Fifteen seats are designated per profession and another fifteen for a non-category guild, numbering to 135 seats. The winners would then be announced in the awards night.
Awards Best Picture Best Direction Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Screenplay Best Cinematography Best Production Design Best Editing Best Musical Score Best Sound
Special awards Golden Reel Award Fernando Poe, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award Manuel de Leon Award for Exemplary Achievements Lamberto Avellana Memorial Award
Inactive awards Best Child Performer
Ceremonies The following is a list of all ceremonies since the award's inception in 1983 as FAP Awards and as Luna Awards since 2005. CeremonyDateBest PictureHost(s)Venue1st FAP AwardsApril 27, 1983Batch '81—Manila Film Center2nd FAP Awards1984Pieta3rd FAP Awards1985Sister Stella L.4th FAP Awards1986Bayan Ko5th FAP AwardsApril 10, 1987Gabi Na, Kumander—Metropolitan Theater6th FAP AwardsMay 28, 1988Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig?—Philippine International Convention Center7th FAP AwardsApril 7, 1989Boy Negro—Rizal Theater8th FAP Awards1990Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit9th FAP AwardsMay 25, 1991Dirty Affair—Philippine International Convention Center10th FAP AwardsMarch 29, 1992Ipagpatawad MoRudy Fernandez, Bong Revilla, Phillip Salvador, Lorna Tolentino11th FAP AwardsMarch 28, 1993Ikaw Pa Lang ang Minahal—12th FAP AwardsApril 23, 1994Masahol Pa sa Hayop—13th FAP AwardsJune 13, 1995Pangako ng Kahapon—14th FAP AwardsJune 1, 1996The Flor Contemplacion StoryMikee Cojuangco, Pops Fernandez, Francis Magalona, Aga MuhlachWestin Philippine Plaza15th FAP Awards1997Hangga't May Hininga16th FAP Awards1998Eseng ng Tondo17th FAP Awards1999Bata, Bata... Pa'no Ka Ginawa?18th FAP Awards2000Bulaklak ng Maynila19th FAP AwardsMay 5, 2001Tanging Yaman20th FAP AwardsMarch 23, 2002Abakada... InaUniversity of the Philippines Theater21st FAP AwardsMarch 29, 2003Lapu-Lapu—University of the Philippines Theater22nd FAP AwardsJuly 3, 2004MagnificoOgie Alcasid, Pops FernandezCultural Center of the Philippines23rd Luna AwardsMay 14, 2005Aishite Imasu 1941Cherie Gil, Martin NieveraThe Westin Philippine Plaza24th Luna AwardsSeptember 16, 2006Blue MoonMarvin Agustin, Claudine Barretto, John Lloyd Cruz, Jolina Magdangal, Lani Mercado. Bong RevillaPAGCOR Grand Theater25th Luna AwardsDecember 27, 2007Kasal, Kasali, KasaloGina Alajar, Rez CortezClub Filipino26th Luna AwardsFebruary 8, 2009BalerGina Alajar, Robert Arevalo, Tirso Cruz III, Lorna TolentinoMandarin Oriental Suites27th Luna AwardsJuly 10, 2011RosarioBoots Anson-Roa, Robert ArevaloQuezon City Sports Club28th Luna AwardsNot held29th Luna AwardsJuly 10, 2011EmirBoots Anson-Roa, Robert ArevaloQuezon City Sports Club30th Luna AwardsAugust 26, 2012Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga StoryRez Cortez, Katya Santos31st Luna AwardsJune 1, 2013El PresidenteRez Cortez, Leroy dela Fuente, Lesley Martinez32nd Luna AwardsNot held33rd Luna Awards34th Luna AwardsSeptember 18, 2016Heneral LunaRez CortezQuezon City Sports Club35th Luna AwardsAugust 26, 2017Die Beautiful—Resorts World Manila36th Luna AwardsSeptember 29, 2018Ang Larawan—37th Luna AwardsNovember 30, 2019Goyo: The Boy GeneralJon SantosMaybank Performing Arts Theater38th Luna AwardsDecember 18, 2020Mindanao—Online due to COVID-19 pandemic39th Luna AwardsAugust 26, 2023Family MattersRico RoblesQuezon City Sports Club40th Luna AwardsAugust 3, 2024GomBurZaKarla Henry-AmmannIBG-KAL Theater, UP Diliman
Hall of Fame An individual is inducted to the Luna Awards Hall of Fame if he/she won at least five competitive awards. Years listed are based on when they garnered their fifth trophy. Their total number of awards are also listed.
Willy Cruz (1987): 13 awards Romy Vitug (1988): 8 awards Phillip Salvador (1994): 8 awards Edgardo Vinarao (1991): 7 awards Ricky Lee (1996): 7 awards Augusto Salvador (1996): 7 awards George Canseco (1996): 6 awards Ramon Reyes (2000): 6 awards Rolly Ruta (1989): 5 awards Vic Macamay (1998): 5 awards Joel Lamangan (2006): 5 awards
References
External links FAP/Luna Awards at the Internet Movie Database Official Website of the Film Academy of the Philippines