Judy Ann Santos named best actress in Cairo film fest
Iwish they’ dt ell me what I did f ort hem ovie that mad eme wi n,s o I’d keep doing it,” said actress Judy Ann Santos, who bagge dt he best actress award at the 2019 Cairo International Film Festival (IFF) for her performance in t he B rillant e Ma Mendoza drama “Mindanao.”
Judy Ann said she regretted not being able to atten dt he festival, which is one of the 15 festivals from all ove rt hew orl dt hat was accorded an “A” status by the International Federation o ff ilm Producers Association (FIAPF).
Costar Allen Dizon accepted the trophy o n he r behalf. Meanwhile, Brillante also won a trophy for best artisti cc ontribution.
Judy Ann’s win i n Ca iro is secon dto Nora Aunor’s best actress victory in the same festival in 1995 for “The Flor Contemplacio ns tory,” which also won best film, or t he G olden Pyramid Award.
The actress was in Manila when she hea rdt he news o fher victory—busy scrubbing the kitchen floor o f he r soon-toopen restaurant .“Ig ot so many congratulatory messages. I wondered why people were doing thi s. Am I p regnant again? Did Iw i na tt he S EA Games?” she quipped . “I totally forgot that ’Mindanao ’ was c ompeting i nca iro .I t was only when I got the message fro md irek Dante (Mendoza’s nickname) that I realize dt his.”
She said it too k a wh i lef or the news to finally sink in. “They told me tha t it ’s been decad es s ince the Philippines won ther e. M iss Universe ang dating ko! Pa rt o f me doesn’t wan t to believe it. I’m already happy to be able to wor kw ith Dir ek B rillant e. I t was really a big deal for me to be able to stud yh im, to lear nal ot from him.”
Judy Ann said she regretted not being able to atten dt he festival because o f he r hectic schedule. “It’s already full from
Octobe r to Januar y. S ome engagements can’t bem oved anymore. I was able to atten dt he festival in Busan because they informed us of the schedule a month befor e.i t would be unfair to client s wh o booked us two mont hs prior,” she explained . “I ha dr eally wante dto attend .Th is i smyf irst movie to compet eab road .Iha d hope dto be present in al loft hef est iva ls—g us toko san am abuo; parang bingo lang.”
The Cairo IFF activities ran smack into theta ping of the final episodes of“Starla ,” Judy Ann’s TV series that’s currently airing on ABS-CBN. “The other cast members have all confirmed .Ic ouldn’t ask for a reschedule anymore. I’m also building the second branch of Angr ya dobo and have been busy manning t hec onstruction an dtr aining. Sayang talaga!”
The actress said he r ro le in “Mindanao” was physically demanding. She ha dto carry Yuna Tangog, the actress who plays, Aisa, he rd aughte ri n t hem ovie, throughout mos to f the shoot .“I alread yha dto wear awa is ttr aine rto protect my back a few days into filming. I guess that’s also whyil ost 5k ilos through the duration of the shooting,” Judy Ann tol dt he Inquirer last Saturday.
Brillante—who sef i lmc redit includes “Kinatay,” whi ch w on for him the best director honor from t hep restigious Cannes International Film Festival—is kno wn f or maki ng f ilms without a detailed script .Ju dy Ann sa id t he director “adjusted because I told hi mi don’t know how to wor kw ithout a sc ript just yet; also because ther ea re terminologies used her e pe rtaining to pediatric cancer.
We’re always free to say whatever we wanted , bu t he made some guidelines. He guided me throughout.”
Brillant e ea rlie r to l dt he Inquire rt ha tt her e we re new elements in the actress’ wor k he re that even non-jud yannf ollowers would appreciate.
“I don’t know exactly what Direk was referring to ,bu t befor esh ooting, he spo kew it hme and pinpointe dto me my mannerisms that I never even knew Iha d .Web ot hc onsciously worke do n making sure
you won’t see them in this movie,” she said. “The film is really the journey of a mother. My acting here is more raw. At some point, I just allowed the mother in me to come out. I embraced it,” Judy Ann added.
What she said she liked about her director was that he was “very honest and straightforward with me about what he wanted. I didn’t feel offended at all. I appreciated it. Had he not told me, I’d never know. When I watched some of my other works, I said, ‘ay oo nga! I see it here!’ I learned a lot from this movie.”
While she said she felt bad not being able to attend the film festivals both in Japan and Egypt, she said she really enjoyed her Busan IFF experience. “I savored the whole trip, especially walking on the red carpet. I also learned that the film industry in Korea is very successful because they’re all moviegoers there. They also appreciate their artists so much and show this by attending Q&A sessions and lining up to take photos with the artists. They anticipate attending the Busan IFF,” Judy Ann recalled.
The actress said that while her husband, TV host Ryan Agoncillo, was extremely happy for her win, her children were clueless. “They’re not aware that I’m an actor before I became a host or a chef,” she pointed out.
“Mindanao” is about a Muslim mother who awaits the return of her soldier husband (Allen Dizon) while she takes care of their cancer-stricken child. It is one of the entries in the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) in December.
“I hope our victory in Cairo will encourage Filipinos to watch it here,” she said. “Unlike other MMFF entries, our film isn’t comedy and doesn’t have special effects, although the film is interlaced with animation. Its topic is super serious. Who would want to see a tearjerker movie during Christmas time? But you will learn a lot from this. People in a foreign country appreciated it, I hope Filipinos would like it, too.”