‘Midnight in a Perfect World’ wins best picture at horror fest in Italy

Glaiza de Castro accepts best picture trophy in Italy.

Things like this give you a lift,” said writer-filmmaker Dodo Dayao in reaction to the best picture win of his politically charged indie movie, “Midnight in a Perfect World,” at the recent 2021 TOHorror Fantastic Film Fest in Turin, Italy.

“Midnight in a Perfect World,” which premiered at the QCinema International Film Festival in 2020, follows four friends played by Glaiza de Castro, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Dino Pastrano and Anthony Falcon. It is set in the “near future.” They find themselves getting caught in mysterious blackouts that happen in random parts of the city after midnight.“[It’s] flattering,” Dayao said of the award. “I was particularly excited that Glaiza was there to represent the film. That made this even more special.”

Glaiza is currently vacationing with Irish boyfriend David Riney in Europe.

Jasmine Curtis-Smith (above) and De Castro in “Midnight in a Perfect World”

“The pandemic deprived us of a proper premiere night, not to mention a domestic physical run. When something like this happens, it’s a chance for the team and the cast to have some kind of after-party, even if it’s only in our chat boxes and social media pages,” Dayao shared with Inquirer Entertainment. “It also makes me terribly eager to start working on the next one.”

The film earlier received a Special Mention from the jury of the 2021 Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada. On the home front, it bagged the best sound award at the recently concluded 44th Gawad Urian.

Asked what he thought of the fact that Filipino filmmakers continue to win awards, locally and abroad, despite the pandemic, Dayao said: “I’m not surprised. I mean, congratulations to everyone. Let’s make some more [films]!”

The horror-thriller had its global release via Upstream.ph in January 2021.