“Heneral Luna”, the biggest earning historical film in the country, is now the official entry of the Philippines to the 73rd Golden Globes Awards of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is one of the 71 eligible films competing for the Foreign Language Films category.
Only five nominees will be chosen from the entries coming from 46 countries, and these will be announced on Thursday, December 10. Awarding ceremonies will be held on January 10, 2016 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The biopic of “Heneral Luna”, is both a box-office hit and a critically-acclaimed film in the Philippines. It has earned a total of 253 million pesos so far, according to Interaksyon.com, excluding its gross receipts from its run abroad. The film was shown in key cities of several states in the US including California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Texas, Maryland, Illinois, Michigan, and Nevada.
It also had its run in Guam and will be showing in Hawaii on December 11.”Heneral Luna” is not only applauded by film critics in the Philippines but in other countries as well. The Hollywood Reporter described it as “a sturdy, stirring historical epic” while The Seattle Times said it was “hard-charging and entertaining”. Perhaps one of the best reviews came from the Houston Style Magazine which pronounced the film as “one of the best war films of the last decade”.
The good reviews are too many to mention in this article. Needless to say, “Heneral Luna” has all the makings of becoming an international hit.
Most industry observers say that the Golden Globes serve as the barometer for the Academy Awards (Oscars). Usually held a few days before the Oscars, Golden Globe winners more often than not, also become the year’s Oscar awardees.
If “Heneral Luna” fares well at the Golden Globes, it will most likely stand a chance at the Oscars, too, where it is also the country’s sole entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The Golden Globe Awards will be telecast to 167 countries and will be hosted by Ricky Gervais.
