Golden Globes and BAFTA nominee Dolly de Leon could not hide her giddiness after accepting an award at the 19th edition of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
The veteran actress won the Best Supporting Actress Award at Cinemalaya 2023 for her role as Eric’s mother in the film fest’s first full-length animated film in its history, “Iti Mapukpukaw” (“The Missing”).
The film also won the Best Film (Full-Length Feature) Award and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Full-Length Feature Award at the film fest’s awards night at the Philippine International Convention Center on Sunday.
READ: Dolly de Leon ticks off animated film participation from bucket list
Dolly in her acceptance speech exclaimed that it was the first time she accepted an acting award on stage in her homeland.
She also won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS) in 2020, but the awarding was held digitally due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Grabe, first time kong makatanggap at magsalita ng award dito sa Pilipinas. Ang sarap pala ng feeling! Ahhh!” the veteran actress exclaimed, complete with hand gestures.
A clip of Dolly’s acceptance speech made rounds on the platform X (formerly Twitter), where it has reached 235,000 views and over 5,400 likes so far.
Dolly De Leon on her Best Supporting Actress win at Cinemalaya 2023
“Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! Grabe, first time ko makatanggap at magsalita ng award dito sa Pilipinas. Ang sarap pala ng feeling!”pic.twitter.com/0xT6ZW0TIG
— Philippine TV & Film Updates (@phtvandfilmupd) August 13, 2023
Dolly also expressed her gratitude for the Cinemalaya award on her Instagram account on Monday, August 14.
“Thank you, @cinemalayaofficial jurors! Sa taranta ko, hindi ako nakapag0thank you sa inyo. Sarap ng feeling mapansin sa isa sa mga pinaka-nirerespeto kong indie film fest,” she wrote.
The acclaimed actress left a message for those who helped her in her Cinemalaya role and those who worked on the animated film.
View this post on Instagram
“Mabuhay ang Pelikulang Pilipino!” Dolly concluded in her post.
The actress has won international awards for her breakthrough role as Abigail in the Oscar-nominated satire “Triangle of Sadness,” where she played a toilet manager-turned-survivalist.
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Among the accolades she bagged were from the North Dakota Film Society, the Middleburg Film Festival, the Guldbagge Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Dolly was also a runner-up in the National Society of Film Critics.
The Filipina also earned historic nominations from the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), the Golden Globes Awards, the UK Film Critics Association, the International Cinephile Society Awards and the Satellite Awards, among others.
Dolly has been appearing in television, films and theater shows for 30 years, but it was only in 2022 that she finally got her breakthrough in acting for “Triangle of Sadness.”
