EDDIE GARCIA AND TONY MABESA
Film legend Eddie Garcia and theater stalwart Tony Mabesa were joint winners in the best actor category at the 52nd Worldfest-houston International Film Festival in Texas last April for portraying bestfriends-turned-lovers in Joel Lamangan’s gender-bending drama, “Rainbow’s Sunset.” They also won awards at the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival for the same film, where Mabesa was adjudged best supporting actor and Garcia handed a special jury prize.
Mabesa, who was in Houston to pick up his award, told the Inquirer in an earlier interview, “It was such a great honor to be recognized at the third oldest film festival in the US, where more than 72 countries participated. It’s also a big honor for the Philippines.”
Asked how it felt like to be sharing the award with Garcia, he pointed out, “Eddie deserves the award. He is the major protagonist in the film. We were all, in a sense, reacting to Eddie’s character.”
For his part, Garcia, who won best actor awards at the Asia-pacific Film Festival and the Asian Film Awards for his performance in “Bwakaw,” earlier told the Inquirer that awards are just icing on a delectable cake.
Last year, he won best actor trophies for his performances in three films: “Hintayan ng Langit” (at Qcinema), “ML” (Cinemalaya) and “Rainbow’s Sunset” (Metro Manila Film Festival).
Putting all his accolades in perspective, he told the Inquirer: “To me, moviemaking is just a job that should be taken seriously. Whatever role is assigned to you, you have to do it well, because it is the best recommendation for the next project. As an actor, I’m not very choosy. If the role is good, it doesn’t matter how long the character’s screen time is.”
Garcia has been winning awards since 1957’s “Taga sa Bato” and 1958’s “Condenado,” and is best remembered for his portrayals in, among others, “Tubog sa Ginto,” “Deathrow,” “ICU Bed #7” and “Bwakaw.” He is just as celebrated as a director (“Atsay,” “Pinagbuklod ng Langit,” “Sinasamba Kita,” “Magdusa Ka,” “Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig?” and those teenage romances starring Sharon Cuneta).
But Mabesa and Garcia’s shared victory in Texas is bittersweet: The 90-year-old Garcia died in an on-set accident last June 20, while Mabesa passed away on Oct. 4 at age 84.