During the run of the event, only Philippine films would be screened in theaters in Manila.
[3] The success of the Manila Film Festival led to the Philippine Motion Picture and Producers Association (PPMA) starting their own film festival in Manila as well as other cities in the Philippines such as Bacolod, Baguio, Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo.
The PMPPA later established the successor event to the Manila Film Festival in 1975 through its then-president Joseph Estrada which was later known as the "Metro Manila Film Festival", which was set up with the approval of then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The Manila Film Festival was revived in 1991 by then-Mayor Mel Lopez.
Some of its succeeding festivals would later start a few days earlier, such as the 1994 edition that became infamous for a cheating scandal that occurred during the awarding ceremonies on 22 June of that year.