On June 22, 1994, during the 1994 Manila Film Festival awarding ceremonies in Manila, Philippines, hosts, actress and beauty queen Ruffa Gutierrez, her brother—actor Rocky Gutierrez, actress Nanette Medved, and Mauritian beauty queen Viveka Babajee read an erroneous set of winners for the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, which included Gutierrez herself, in a manner that raised suspicions of foul play. A subsequent investigation launched by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and testimony from a co-host, actress Gretchen Barretto uncovered a plot involving the hosts and masterminded by the event's talent coordinator Lolit Solis to deliberately alter the results of the competition in favor of Gabby Concepcion, the initial winner of the Best Actor award whom she also managed as an agent, and Gutierrez, who was also his co-star in his film.
The scandal generated national uproar and was widely reported on in international media. It also led to criminal charges against the hosts (except Barretto), Solis, Concepcion and the Gutierrez siblings’ mother and manager Annabelle Rama, who were then referred to in the press as the "Filmfest Seven", although in the end only Solis was convicted.