''Ploning'' is a 2008

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

romantic

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Dante Nico Garcia, who won Best Director at the 2008 Asian Festival of First Films. Based on a popular Cuyonon song of the same title about a girl's hidden feelings, the film stars

Judy Ann Santos Judy Anne Lumagui Santos-Agoncillo (born May 11, 1978) is a Filipino actress and film producer. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines, and is known for her dramatic and comedic roles in blockbusters and independent films, as w ...

in the title role. Filming was done in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Cuyo in

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

, Garcia's hometown. The film was the official entry of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

for Best Foreign Language Film at the

81st Academy Awards The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 ...

Plot

In the present, a mysterious

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

ese fisherman, Muo Sei, lands in the town of Cuyo,

beside the sea where he immediately looks for someone named "Ploning". In a flashback to some years ago, Ploning is known as a hardworking and thoughtful woman who, despite her age and beauty, decided not to marry. She had loved a man named Tomas fourteen years ago who left for a better life in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

leaving her heartbroken and pining for his return. Despite this, Ploning continues her role as a dutiful daughter to the town patriarch Susing and to Tomas' grieving mother Intang, a compassionate friend to outsider Alma, and a caretaker of the invalid Juaning, whose son Digo she has taken under her care as well. Ploning however, decides to leave their peaceful life to look for Tomas in Manila. Digo, overcome by grief, seeks help in the town guest, the nurse Celeste, whom they learn also had a lover named Tomas back in

. Due to her deep devotion, Ploning rejects the notion that this Tomas and her Tomas are the same person. On the day Ploning disappears, rain falls on Cuyo who has been suffering a dry season. Muo Sei is later revealed to be Digo, and the townspeople who are leading the town are the people Ploning helped back then.

Cast

as Ploning *

Gina Pareño Gina Pareño (; born Geraldine Acthley, October 20, 1947) is a Filipino actress. She is referred to as the "Queen of Philippine Melodrama", being best known for her award-winning portrayals in films like '' Kubrador'', ''Service (film), Serbis' ...

as Intang *

Mylene Dizon Mylene Lilibeth Inocencio Dizon (; born September 6, 1976) is a Filipino actress. Known for her versatile work in independent film features and mainstream productions, she has received various accolades, including a Gawad Urian Award, two Lu ...

as Celeste *

Meryll Soriano Mary Rosalind Soriano Revillame (; born December 9, 1982), known professionally as Meryll Soriano, is a multi-awarded Filipino people, Filipino actress. Career Soriano started acting as a child star during the early '90s appearing in "The Ma ...

as Alma *

Ces Quesada Ces Quesada (; born June 13, 1958) is a Filipino actress and TV host. She is currently signed with GMA Network and ABS-CBN. Prior to acting, she taught Speech Communication and Theater Arts at the University of the Philippines The Unive ...

as Nieves *

Tony Mabesa Antonio "Tony" Ocampo Mabesa ONA (January 27, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was a Filipino stage director, film and television actor, and professor. With a career spanning over 70 years, he was a founding father of Philippine university theater and ...

as Susing * Crispin Pineda as Toting *

Eugene Domingo Eugenia "Eugene" Roxas Domingo-Bottoni (; born July 23, 1971), is a Filipino actress, comedienne and host. She has performed in lead and supporting roles in various genres of the Philippine film industry. She is popularly known as the "Comedy ...

as Juaning * Tessie Tomas as Seling / Old Celeste *

Ketchup Eusebio Michael Allen Eusebio (born September 9, 1985), better known by his stage name Ketchup Eusebio, is a Filipino actor. Filmography Television Film Accolades References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eusebio, Ketchup Star Magic ABS- ...

as Badocdoc * Ronnie Lazaro as Old Veling *

Joel Torre José Rizalino "Joel" de León Torre (born June 19, 1961) is a Filipino actor and producer who is best known for his numerous films such as the biographical film ''José Rizal'' (1998), crime thriller film '' On the Job'' (2013) and the histor ...

as Old Siloy * Beth Tamayo as Divina * Jojit Lorenzo as Basit * Spanky Manikan as Tsuy * Cedric Amit as Rodrigo * Lucas Agustin as Siloy * Ogoy Agustin as Veling * Bojong Fernandez as Muo Sei

Production

The filming of ''Ploning'' was entirely done on the

of Cuyo in

. It was directed by Dante Nico Garcia, who incidentally, is a native of the town. According to him, the film is based on his childhood memories of the town. When he wrote the screenplay for the film with Benjamin Lingan, he decided to use his native tongue, Cuyonon. He had stated that the inspiration for the character

played in the film is based on a Cuyonon

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

about a girl's hidden feelings, originally sung by a male but was first recorded by a female. This led him to think of a story of a woman singing the song while remembering her lover. ( Tagalog) Shooting of the film was done in various locales of the town. This includes the pier, the waiting place of Ploning; and Intigan beach. The basketball court, meanwhile, provided for a setting for the first meeting between Digo and Celeste, while Emilod was the location for the ''esposada'' (bridal shower), which took three nights to shoot. A cemetery was purposely built for the film and the locals decided to preserve it as a tourist attraction. The film was produced by Panoramamanila Pictures Co., which, despite its fledgeling status, tried its best to authenticate the production of the film.

Cashew Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...

nut brittle, the town's delicacy, as well as the harvesting of

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

in an ''asinan'' was showcased in the film. Cuyo's Pagdayao Festival, an Ati-atihan-like celebration usually celebrated on August 27, was also featured as the town fiesta.

Cast

The cast of ''Ploning'' is played by veteran actors as well as newcomers to show business. Veteran actress

got the title role. Compared to her other roles, which are very dramatic (particularly that of Mara in '' Mara Clara''), her character in the film is seen as mellow and reserved. Numerous

comedienne A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who ...

s are also cast in the film, such as

(as Intang),

(as Juaning), Ces Quesada (as Nieves), and Tessie Tomas (as Seling), whose dramatic performances seem weird in contrast to Santos'. The role of Celeste is supposed to have been given to

Iza Calzado Maria Izadora Ussher Calzado-Wintle (born August 12, 1982) is a Filipino actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly drama, psychological thriller and horror, she has received a selection of accolades, in ...

but Mylene Dizon took the role instead when scheduling conflicts between the film and ''

Joaquin Bordado ''Joaquin Bordado'' is a 2008 Philippine television drama action fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is based on a Philippine comic book serial by Carlo J. Caparas with the same title. Directed by Mac Alejandre and Argel Joseph ...

'' were not resolved. Other cast members include newcomers Lukas Agustin (as Siloy), Ogoy Agustin (as Veiling), Cedric Amit (as Digo), and Bodjong Fernandez (as Mou Sei) as well as established actors Ketchup Eusebio (as Badocdoc), Ronnie Lazaro (as Old Veiling), Jojit Lorenzo (as Basit), Tony Mabesa (as Susing), Spanky Manikan (as Tsuy), Crispin Piñeda (as Toting), Meryl Soriano (as Alma), Beth Tamayo (as Divina), and Joel Torre (as Mayor Siloy).

Inspiration

The inspiration for the film came from the

"Ploning". A fragment is shown below:

Release

''Ploning'' premiered in limited release from April 30 to May 6, 2008 with Filipino subtitles in the

before going to wider release and subsequent worldwide screenings with English subtitles. The film was shown during the 6th

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Cinema International Film Festival on July 5, 2008, as part of a showcase which featured Filipino films such as ''

Himala ''Himala'' ('Miracle') is a 1982 Philippine religious drama film directed by Ishmael Bernal and produced by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. It stars Nora Aunor as a young woman living in the province who claims to have seen a Marian ...

'' and '' Kubrador''. It was then seen in the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Asian Independent Film Festival on November 16 and 21 and the 39th International Film Festival of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on November 28 and 30, 2008. Before 2008 ended, ''Ploning'' premiered at the Asian Festival of First Films in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

on December 9, where it received a Best Director award and a Best Screenplay/Script nomination. In the United States, ''Ploning'' was shown during the 20th

Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 19 ...

held in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on January 12 and 13, 2009, with lead star

and director Dante Nico Garcia in attendance. It was part of the For Your Consideration program at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in Rafael,

, where it was screened on January 18, 2009 with director Garcia in attendance. It was then seen at the 10th Newport Beach Film Festival in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

on April 26, 2009.

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

s and

VCD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video), (not to be confused with CD Video which is a type of LaserDisc, Laserdisc) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical di ...

s of the film were released during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

season by GMA Records and Home Video. These contain the film as well as bonus features such as the trailer and behind the scenes productions. There are Tagalog/ Filipino subtitles but no English subtitles.

Reception

The Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) graded ''Ploning'' with an "A" evaluation, entitling it to a 100% tax rebate on its earnings. ( Tagalog) Meanwhile, the

Movie and Television Review and Classification Board The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion p ...

(MTRCB) gave it a "General Patronage" rating. After it was officially selected for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, it was reported that the

Philippine government The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional repub ...

had given one million pesos (twenty thousand

US dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) in support of the film. Various

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

were also noted to have supported the film. The film gained critical praise after Dante Nico Garcia won the Best Director award while he and Benjamin Lingan were nominated for the Best Screenplay award during the Asian Festival of First Film Awards in

, the film's star, was involved in a minor controversy when her home network,

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

, refused to promote ''Ploning'' and instead chose to promote the film '' When Love Begins''. This led to disputes between her manager, Alfie Lorenzo, and the network though both parties have since reconciled. In August 2008, she returned to Cuyo to grace the screenings and was awarded as the town's "adopted daughter". ''Plonings road to the Oscars ended when the Top 9 shortlisted entries (later narrowed to the Final 5) for the Best Foreign Language Film category was announced but the team behind ''Ploning'' remained positive and appreciative of the experience. On January 18, 2009,

aired the primetime television special ''Pangarap ni Ploning'' (''Dream of Ploning''), which chronicled the fundraising events mounted to finance the lobbying efforts for the film's Oscar bid. Then, on February 22, 2009, lead star Judy Ann Santos and director Dante Nico Garcia launched the Ploning Foundation to help future filmmakers raise funds for the promotion of the chosen Philippine entry similar to what they did for ''Ploning''.

Awards and nominations

* Official Entry of the

for Best Foreign Language Film of the

. * Asian Festival of First Film Awards (Singapore) *: Best Director: Dante Nico Garcia — Win *: Best Screenplay/Script: Dante Nico Garcia & Benjamin Lingan — ''Nominees'' * 7th Gawad Tanglaw *: Best Film — Win *: Best Director: Dante Nico Garcia — Win *: Best Actress: Judy Ann Santos — Win *: Best Screenplay: — Win *: Best Story: — Win *: Best Cinematography — Win *: Best Editing — Win * 6th ENPRESS Golden Screen Awards *: Best Motion Picture—Drama *: Best Direction: Dante Nico Garcia *: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role—Drama: Judy Ann Santos *: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role—Drama, Musical or Comedy: Mylene Dizon *: Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Cedric Amit, Bojong Fernandez *: Best Original Screenplay: Dante Nico Garcia & Benjamin Lingan *: Best Cinematography: Charlie Peralta *: Best Editing: Danny Añonuevo — Win *: Best Production Design: Raymund George Fernandez *: Best Sound: Mike Idioma — Win *: Best Musical Score: Jessie Lasaten * 11th Gawad Pasado Awards *: Pinakapasadong Pelikula (Best Film) — Win *: Pinakapasadong Direktor (Best Director): Dante Nico Garcia — Win *: Pinakapasadong Aktres (Best Actress): Judy Ann Santos — Win *: Pinakapasadong Katuwang na Aktres (Best Supporting Actress): Ces Quesada *: Pinakapasadong Katuwang na Aktres (Best Supporting Actress): Mylene Dizon *: Pinakapasadong Dulang Pampelikula (Best Screenplay): Dante Nico Garcia & Benjamin Lingan — Win *: Pinakapasadong Istorya (Best Story): Dante Nico Garcia *: Pinakapasadong Sinematograpiya (Best Cinematography): Charlie Peralta — Win *: Pinakapasadong Editing (Best Editing): Danny Anonuevo *: Pinakapasadong Musika (Best Musical Score): Jessie Lasaten *: Pinakapasadong Tunog (Best Sound): Albert Michael Idioma *: Pinakapasadong Pelikula sa Pag-gamit ng Wika — Win * 25th PMPC Star Awards for Movies *: Movie of the Year *: Movie Director of the Year: Dante Nico Garcia *: New Movie Actor of the Year: Bojong Fernandez *: Original Movie Screenplay of the Year: Dante Nico Garcia & Benjamin Lingan *: Movie Cinematographer of the Year: Charlie S. Peralta *: Movie Editor of the Year: Danny Añonuevo *: Movie Production Designer of the Year: Raymund Jorge Fernandez *: Movie Musical Scorer of the Year: Jessie Lasaten — Win *: Movie Sound Engineer of the Year: Mike Idioma * 32nd Gawad Urian Awards *: Best Actress: Judy Ann Santos *: Best Cinematography: Charlie S. Peralta *: Best Editing: Danny Añonuevo *: Best Production Design: Raymund Jorge Fernandez *: Best Music: Jessie Lasaten *: Best Sound: Mike Idioma * 57th FAMAS Awards *: Best Picture *: Best Director: Dante Nico Garcia *: Best Actress: Judy Ann Santos *: Best Supporting Actor: Boyong Fernandez *: Best Supporting Actress: Gina Pareño *: Best Story: Dante Nico Garcia *: Best Screenplay: Dante Nico Garcia & Benjamin Lingan *: Best Cinematography: Charlie S. Peralta *: Best Art Direction: Raymond Fernandez *: Best Musical Score: Jesse Lasaten Win *: Best Sound: Albert Michael Idioma *: Best Editing: Danilo Añonuevo *: Best Visual Effects: Optima Digital Win * 3rd Gawad GENIO Awards *: Best Film *: Best Film Director: Dante Nico Garcia *: Best Film Actress: Judy Ann Santos *: Best Film Cinematographer: Charlie S. Peralta *: Best Film Editor: Danilo Añonuevo *: Best Film Musical Scorer: Jesse Lasaten Win *: Best Film Screenwriter: Dante Nico Garcia & Benjamin Lingan *: Best Film Sound Engineer: Albert Michael Idioma *: Best Film Story: Dante Nico Garcia *: Best Film Visual Effects: Optima Digital * 27th FAP Luna Awards (nominations only; needs updating) *: Best Picture *: Best Actress: Judy Ann Santos *: Best Screenplay: Dante Nico Garcia & Benjamin Lingan *: Best Cinematography: Charlie S. Peralta *: Best Production Design: Raymond George Fernandez *: Best Musical Scoring: Jesse Lasaten *: Best Sound: Albert Michael Idioma

Soundtrack

The soundtrack used composes only of Cuyonon

s arranged and performed by the musical group SINIKA. # "Esmeralda" # "Pondo, Pondo" # "Konsomisyon" # "Ploning" (Song by: Pauline Kaye P. Gilongos)

Media and distribution release

The series was released onto DVD-format and VCD-format by GMA Records. The DVD contained the movie the full-length trailer of the movie. The DVD/VCD was released in 2008.

References

External links

* * {{Philippine submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2008 films 2008 comedy films Philippine folk songs Films set in the 1980s Philippine independent films 2008 romantic drama films 2000s Tagalog-language films Taiwanese-language films 2008 thriller films Visayan-language films Visayan music