Seriously now, Eugene

Vote for Eugene Domingo as people’s choice best actress in Asian Film Awards

EUGENE Domingo

Filipino fans here and abroad can vote for Eugene Domingo who’s vying for best actress in the people’s choice section of the Asian Film Awards.  “Voting is ongoing until March 5 on the AFA web site: http://www.asianfilmawards.asia/2012,” said Joji Alonso, who produced Domingo’s entry, “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank.”

Lucky voters can win a chance to attend the awards ceremony next month.

Reinvented

Best known for wacky characters in such hit movies as “Kimmy Dora,” “Here Comes the Bride” and “Septic Tank,” comedienne Domingo reinvented herself as a serious thespian in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry, “Shake, Rattle and Roll 13.”

In the episode “Rain, Rain Go Away,” she played it straight as a woman haunted by drenched spirits. Still, she won best supporting actress at the MMFF for another comedic portrayal, in “My Househusband: Ikaw Na.”

Domingo believes it’s important to push herself as a performer, especially in light of her AFA nod. AFA is known as the Asian Oscars, after all. “She’s often boxed in comedic roles, but ‘Septic’ showed her range and versatility,” noted Alonso.

Talk about pushing: Uge, as Domingo is known in the biz, is set to do the Unitel-produced musical “I Do Bidoo Bidoo,” based on the songs of the Apo Hiking Society and to be directed by Chris Martinez, her collaborator on “Rain, Rain.”

She explains her decision to cross over to other genres: “It’s good to surprise your audience, and yourself, when you get the chance. As an actor, I welcome the challenge, the uncertainty that opens me up to new, maybe greater, possibilities.”

While doing “Rain,” Uge realized that doing horror is serious business: “It’s not easy to look scared.”

She has no reason to fear when “Septic” competes in Berlin (this month) and the AFA (next month). She had wanted to attend Berlinale, if only to meet Oscar winner Meryl Streep. But she had to shoot “Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme” in Seoul and Manila.

According to Alonso, “Septic” is nominated for the Cinema Fairbindet award in the Forum section of the ongoing Berlin fest. The award comes with a cash prize of 5,000 euros and the chance to be distributed in German cinemas. Alonso explained that films honored with a Cinema Fairbindet nod are chosen for “evocative aesthetic, emotional or narrative virtues.”

Although “Septic” failed to clinch an Oscar nod (for best foreign language film), Uge is thrilled over the double nominations (best actress for her and best screenplay for Martinez) at the Asian Oscars.

“I want to share that with all Filipinos who have faith in our cinema,” she said. “The [AFA] recognition means that our neighbors are now aware that Filipinos can excel and can definitely be considered among Asia’s best.”

(bayanisandiego@hotmail.com)

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Tags: Asian Film Awards , Bayani San Diego Jr. , cinema , Entertainment , Eugene Domingo , Film , Movies