# Luna Award

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. This also caused some delays for ceremony scheduling.

## 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.
| Ceremony | Date | Best Picture | Host(s) | Venue |
| 1st FAP Awards | April 27, 1983 | Batch '81 | — | Manila Film Center |
| 2nd FAP Awards | 1984 | Pieta | | |
| 3rd FAP Awards | 1985 | Sister Stella L. | | |
| 4th FAP Awards | 1986 | Bayan Ko | | |
| 5th FAP Awards | April 10, 1987 | Gabi Na, Kumander | — | Metropolitan Theater |
| 6th FAP Awards | May 28, 1988 | Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig? | — | Philippine International Convention Center |
| 7th FAP Awards | April 7, 1989 | Boy Negro | — | Rizal Theater |
| 8th FAP Awards | 1990 | Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit | | |
| 9th FAP Awards | May 25, 1991 | Dirty Affair | — | Philippine International Convention Center |
| 10th FAP Awards | March 29, 1992 | Ipagpatawad Mo | Rudy Fernandez, Bong Revilla, Phillip Salvador, Lorna Tolentino | Philippine International Convention Center |
| 11th FAP Awards | March 28, 1993 | Ikaw Pa Lang ang Minahal | — | Philippine International Convention Center |
| 12th FAP Awards | April 23, 1994 | Masahol Pa sa Hayop | — | Philippine International Convention Center |
| 13th FAP Awards | June 13, 1995 | Pangako ng Kahapon | — | Philippine International Convention Center |
| 14th FAP Awards | June 1, 1996 | The Flor Contemplacion Story | Mikee Cojuangco, Pops Fernandez, Francis Magalona, Aga Muhlach | Westin Philippine Plaza |
| 15th FAP Awards | 1997 | Hangga't May Hininga | | |
| 16th FAP Awards | 1998 | Eseng ng Tondo | | |
| 17th FAP Awards | 1999 | Bata, Bata... Pa'no Ka Ginawa? | | |
| 18th FAP Awards | 2000 | Bulaklak ng Maynila | | |
| 19th FAP Awards | 2001 | Tanging Yaman | | |
| 20th FAP Awards | 2002 | Abakada... Ina | | |
| 21st FAP Awards | March 29, 2003 | Lapu-Lapu | — | University of the Philippines Theater |
| 22nd FAP Awards | July 3, 2004 | Magnifico | Ogie Alcasid, Pops Fernandez | Cultural Center of the Philippines |
| 23rd Luna Awards | May 14, 2005 | Aishite Imasu 1941 | Cherie Gil, Martin Nievera | The Westin Philippine Plaza |
| 24th Luna Awards | September 16, 2006 | Blue Moon | Marvin Agustin, Claudine Barretto, John Lloyd Cruz, Jolina Magdangal, Lani Mercado. Bong Revilla | PAGCOR Grand Theater |
| 25th Luna Awards | December 27, 2007 | Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo | Gina Alajar, Rez Cortez | Club Filipino |
| 26th Luna Awards | February 8, 2009 | Baler | Gina Alajar, Robert Arevalo, Tirso Cruz III, Lorna Tolentino | Mandarin Oriental Suites |
| 27th Luna Awards | July 10, 2011 | Rosario | Boots Anson-Roa, Robert Arevalo | Quezon City Sports Club |
| 28th Luna Awards | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 29th Luna Awards | July 10, 2011 | Emir | Boots Anson-Roa, Robert Arevalo | Quezon City Sports Club |
| 30th Luna Awards | August 26, 2012 | Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story | Rez Cortez, Katya Santos | Quezon City Sports Club |
| 31st Luna Awards | June 1, 2013 | El Presidente | Rez Cortez, Leroy dela Fuente, Lesley Martinez | Quezon City Sports Club |
| 32nd Luna Awards | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 33rd Luna Awards | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 34th Luna Awards | September 18, 2016 | Heneral Luna | Rez Cortez | Quezon City Sports Club |
| 35th Luna Awards | August 26, 2017 | Die Beautiful | — | Resorts World Manila |
| 36th Luna Awards | September 29, 2018 | Ang Larawan | — | Resorts World Manila |
| 37th Luna Awards | November 30, 2019 | Goyo: The Boy General | Jon Santos | Maybank Performing Arts Theater |
| 38th Luna Awards | December 18, 2020 | Mindanao | — | Online due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 39th Luna Awards | August 26, 2023 | Family Matters | Rico Robles | Quezon City Sports Club |
| 40th Luna Awards | August 3, 2024 | GomBurZa | Karla Henry-Ammann | IBG-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