Gawad Urian Awards - Awards

Awards

The Gawad Urian Awards were established to, in Tagalog, "suriin ang mga pelikulang Pilipino, pasiglahin ang diyalogo ng mga manonood at ng industriya ng pelikula, pag-aralan ang mga tunguhing makapagpapahusay sa pelikula, at linangin ang kaalaman sa tungkulin ng pelikula bilang medyum ng ekspresyon at komunikasyon, ayon sa mga kondisyon ng paggawa ng pelikula sa ating bayan (examine Filipino films, bolster the interest of the masses and the Philippine film industry, study and celebrate the achievement that will help define the good Filipino film, and cultivate the knowledge and skills that the film medium was designed for, which is to be a medium of communication and expression of our culture according to the standards and conditions of filmmaking in our country)."

The MPP then chose the name "urian" for its awards An urian is a standard for gold in Tagalog. Gawad, on the other hand, is the Tagalog word for "award." Due to this choice, the Gawad Urian became the first and the only major award-giving body in the Philippines (the others being the FAMAS Awards, the Luna Awards and the Star Awards for Movies) to use the vernacular in awards shows and in the presentation of the awards.

The Gawad Urian is given in twelve categories and have been annually awarded since 1977. In 1988, the awards for the films of 1987 were not held because the MPP deemed that there was a "lack of deserving winners," which was a first in Filipino awards history. The thirteen categories of the awards, named in Tagalog, are the following:

• Pinakamahusay na Pelikula (Best Picture)
• Pinakamahusay na Direksyon (Best Direction)
• Pinakamahusay na Dulang Pampelikula (Best Screenplay)
• Pinakamahusay na Pagganap ng Isang Pangunahing Aktor (Best Actor)
• Pinakamahusay na Pagganap ng Isang Pangunahing Aktres (Best Actress)
• Pinakamahusay na Pagganap ng Isang Pangalawang Aktor (Best Supporting Actor)
• Pinakamahusay na Pagganap ng Isang Pangalawang Aktres (Best Supporting Actress)
• Pinakamahusay na Disenyong Pamproduksyon (Best Production Design)
• Pinakamahusay na Sinematograpiya (Best Cinematography)
• Pinakamahusay na Musika (Best Musical Score)
• Pinakamahusay na Tunog (Best Sound)
• Pinakamahusay na Editing (Best Film Editing)

The Gawad Urian also awards the Natatanging Gawad Urian (Gawad Urian Lifetime Achievement Award) to a film artisan whose contributions to film have helped shaped the great Filipino film.

In addition to these, the Gawad Urian Aktor at Aktress ng Dekada (Urian Award for Ator and Actress of the Decade) are given every first year of the decade to actor/s and actress/es who had won the most number of Gawad Urian Awards for acting in the past decade. Here are the recipients of the award:

• 1980s: Vilma Santos, Nora Aunor, Gina Alajar, Phillip Salvador
• 1990s: Vilma Santos, Nora Aunor, Richard Gomez
• 2000s: Coco Martin, Gina Pareño, Cherry Pie Picache

In 1992, the Gawad Urian gave the Ginintuang Gawad Urian (the Golden Urian Award) to Mike de Leon. It would be the first and the last time that the MPP would give out the award.