Gina Pareño wins more Int’l acting awards
Posted on March 23rd, 2008 under Entertainment Success
“Kubrador” has been a good luck charm for Gina Pareño. The character actress is on a winning streak, as she bagged her third best actress award at the 26th Amiens International Film Festival in France.
This is her third acting award from a foreign panel-after winning at the 8th Osian Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema in New Delhi, India in July, and at the 33rd International Festival of Independent Film in Brussels, Belgium last week.
“This latest honor only confirms that Gina’s previous triumphs were not flukes and that our artists can compete with the world’s best,” said Jeffrey Jeturian, the film director.
Pareño called her director onstage, to share the award with him. In “Kubrador,” she plays a jueteng (numbers game) bet collector, who cheerfully and willfully goes about her business, in spite of the trials and tribulations of life in the slums of Manila.
Pareño’s victories in Brussels and Amiens are fitting birthday gifts for the seasoned performer who celebrated her 55th birthday on Oct. 20. She has been in show business for four decades, having started as a teen star in Sampaguita Pictures in 1966.
The other winners at the Amiens Film Festival were for best film, “10 Canoes” (Australia); special jury prize, “Dreams of Dust” (Burkina Faso/Canada/France); best actor, Damian Alcazar, “A Wonderful World” (Mexico); Amiens City Award, “A Wonderful World.”
Jeturian said competition in Amiens was tough. “We competed with films that had won in other prestigious festivals. ‘Daratt’ from Chad won the jury prize in Venice, while ’10 Canoes’ won the jury prize in Cannes.”
Pareño and Jeturian are now Thessaloniki, Greece for a screening of “Kubrador.” Next stops are the Asiaticafilmmediale event in Rome, Italy, as well as festivals in Bratislava, Tallin, Dubai, Chennai/Bangalore and Cairo. “Kubrador” has been invited to 31 film fests so far.