Filipina actresses Anita, Alessandra win awards at Malaysia film festival

Alessandra de Rossi has won the best actress award at the 1st ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (Aiffa) for the movie ‘Sta. Niña’ (Girl Saint), as 13 Filipino indie films competed in the Malaysian event held towards the end of March.

The 28-year-old Alessandra, younger sister of the actress Assunta de Rossi, triumphed over her competitors for her lead role in ‘Sta. Niña’, which was also an official entry to the 2012 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in Manila.

‘Sta. Niña’, a film about a dead child believed to have healing powers and directed by Emmanuel Quindo Palo, won the ‘best picture for drama’ award, according to the organising committee of Aiffa.

Anita Linda, another star of ‘Sta. Niña’, won the award for ‘best supporting actress’ while Bugoy Cariño, the child actor who is a mainstay at GMA-7, won the ‘best supporting actor’ award in the movie ‘Alagwa’ (Breakaway). ‘Alagwa’ is a film about human trafficking, with Jericho Rosales as lead actor.

“The film owes a great deal to the natural chemistry between singer-actor Rosales and Cariño, child star of the TV series ‘E-Boy’, whose playful, mischievous nature contrasts with Rosales’ nervous hen approach to child-rearing,” ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ said late last year after ‘Alagwa’ debuted at the 17th Busan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea.

The Los Angeles-based ‘Hollywood Reporter’, which reports on the entertainment industry through a multimedia platform, added, “The spontaneity is a welcome change from the usual parent-child sentimentality on screen.”

Held between March 28 and 30 in Sarawak, Malaysia, Aiffa showcased 100 films from South East Asia, Australia, India and the US.

Rosales and another Filipino actor Rocco Nacino were among the presenters at the award ceremonies of the three-day film festival.

The ‘best actor’ award went to Malaysia’s Shaheizy Sam for ‘Songlap’, which won the ‘best picture for action’ award. Another Malaysian film, ‘Istanbul Aku Datang’ clinched the trophy for ‘best picture – comedy’.

List of other winners:

• Best Screenplay: ‘Bunohan’ – Malaysia
• Best Film Editing: ‘Sang Martir’ – Indonesia
• Best Directorial Photography: ‘Rayya’ – Indonesia
• Special Honour Award: ‘Hanyut’ – Malaysia
• Special Jury Award: ‘Kayan Beauties’ – Myanmar ‘Rectoverso’ – Indonesia, ‘Ada Apa Dengan Rina’ – Brunei, ‘Taxi! Taxi!’ – Singapore
• Best Director: Riri Riza, ‘Atambua 39 Degrees Celsius’ – Indonesia
• Aiffa ‘lifetime achievement’ award and Asean ‘spirit award’: Michelle Yeoh
• Inaugural Asean ‘spirit award’: ‘Cinta Tapi Beda’ – Indonesia