Gov. Vilma Santos & Aiko Melendez Win More Acting Honors From La Jolla, California & London, England FilmFest

TWO LOCAL actress just won honors from abroad. After winning the best actress award at the Dhaka International Filmfest in Bangladesh, Gov. Vilma Santos now gets an award of merit as lead actress, again for her portrayal of Loida Malabanan in “Ekstra, The Bit Player”, a Cinemalaya entry. This is from IndieFest Film Awards based in La Jolla, California, a global film competition for cinematic gems and aims to promote filmmakers to a global audience.

According to “Ekstra” producer Atty. Joji Alonso of Quantum Films, there are thousands of entries and Gov. Vi is the only Asian who was honored among three actresses given the award of merit. The others are American and Italian. In the movie “Ekstra”, only Gov. Vi is the one given recognition. The movie and its director, Jeffrey Jeturian, were not recognized in their respective categories.

In England, Aiko Melendez won the Best Actress Award in a Foreign Language Film at the London International Filmmakers Festival of World Cinema. This is for her portrayal of a single mom fighting for the survival of her two sons threatened by a crime lord in “Asintado”, a Cinemalaya entry. In London to receive the award for her is the film’s director, Louie Ignacio, and producer, Ferdy Lapus. Congratulations!