Dolly De Leon wins her first acting award from the Philippines
Filipino actress Dolly De Leon, who has been getting several acting awards and nominations in other countries, just accepted in person her very first acting award from the Philippines itself.
De Leon won best actress at this year's Cinemalaya, the country's renowned independent film festival, for her role in the full-length animated feature Iti Mapukpukaw (The Missing). The awards night was held at the Manila Hotel last Aug. 13 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay.
The Filipino-Ilocano movie, which uses rotoscoping or the seamless integration of illustrations with live-action footages, also won best film and Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema award for full-length feature.
Though De Leon technically won her first solo acting award in 2020, i.e., best supporting actress at Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards or FAMAS for crime drama Verdict, it was held digitally due to the pandemic.
Her debut award in the local showbiz industry was a shared one, i.e., outstanding ensemble performance at the 2017 Gawad Buhay, which recognizes plays and musicals, for her role in Tribes.
“Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Grabe, first time kong makatanggap at magsalita ng award dito sa Pilipinas," De Leon said in her Cinemalaya acceptance speech. "Ang sarap pala ng feeling."
A snippet of her acceptance speech made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter).
Dolly De Leon on her Best Supporting Actress win at Cinemalaya 2023
— Philippine TV & Film Updates (@phtvandfilmupd) August 13, 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
On Instagram, De Leon also thanked Cinemalaya jurors for the recognition.
"Sa taranta ko hindi ako nakapag thank you sa inyo. Sarap ng feeling mapansin sa isa sa mga pinakanirerespeto kong indie film fest," she said in her caption. She also gave a shout-out to several persons who worked for Iti Mapukpukaw.
"Mabuhay ang Pelikulang Pilipino!" she added.
De Leon rose to global fame for her role in class satire Triangle of Sadness. She portrayed Abigail, a toilet cleaner turned captain of the ship for the uberwealthy.
Her breakout performance earned her over 15 international nods, including the 80th Golden Globe Awards, 48th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, and The Satellite Awards 2022. Her last award was Best Supporting Actress at the Guldbagge Awards in Sweden.
De Leon has an upcoming dark comedy movie with Kathryn Bernardo titled A Very Good Girl, which will hit cinemas in September.
She's also joining the second season of drama series Nine Perfect Strangers starring Nicole Kidman.