Charo wins in Canary Islands fest

Charo Santos

For her comeback film, Lav Diaz’s “Ang Babaeng Humayo,” actress-network executive Charo Santos-Concio was given the Special Mention honor in acting at the 17th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, held in the Canary Islands over the weekend. She is no stranger to international recognition, having won her first best actress trophy at the Asian Film Festival for her movie debut, Mike de Leon’s “Itim,” held in Sydney, Australia, in 1978.

She told the Inquirer: “This piece of good news is always welcome! I am grateful to have been considered worthy of a special mention.”

She recounted that her director Diaz had forwarded an e-mail to her. “The festival head said that the jury was torn, so they made an exception for the first time in the acting category and decided to give this special recognition.”

It marks another first for Concio and the country.

She asserted: “My thanks to the jury and again thanks to Direk Lav for the trust!”

“Ang Babaeng Humayo” won the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival last year, the highest honor accorded to a Filipino film in the international arena, thus far. —BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.