Vilma Santos Goes International with First Indie Film; Beats 21 Other Actresses

ABS-CBN takes pride in the achievement of Star For All Seasons Vilma Santos, who was named Best Actress at the 13th Dhaka International Film Festival held in Bangladesh for her performance in her first-ever indie film “Ekstra,” which was released by Star Cinema together with Quantum Films.

Vilma bested 21 other lead actresses of film entries from Asia Pacific, including Australia.

She was first honored as Best Actress for “Ekstra” at the 2013 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2013 and the Gawad Tanglaw Awards 2014.

“Ekstra” is a touching drama-comedy film that revolves around the lives of bit players in the movie and TV industry like Loida Malabanan (played by Vilma).

In 2013, “Ekstra” gained international premiere as part of the Contemporary World Cinema program of the prestigious 38th Toronto International Film Festival.

The Jeffrey Jeturian-directed film earned unanimous grade of “A” from the Cinema Evalution Board (CEB).

Part of Star Cinema’s 20th anniversary in the movie industry, “Ekstra” also features Ruby, Tart Carlos of “Be Careful With My Heart,” Cherie Gil, Pilar Pilapil, Nico Antonio, Tom Rodriguez, Direk Marlon Rivera, Vince de Jesus and many more.

Also part of Vilma’s milestone movie is the special participation of Richard Yap, Marian Rivera, and Piolo Pascual.

For latest updates on “Ekstra” and other 20th anniversary offerings of Star Cinema, visit www.StarCinema.com.ph, http://facebook.com/StarCinema and http://twitter.com/StarCinema.

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9th Cinemalaya 2013 Winners - Vilma Santos, Jasmine Curtis, Sana Dati, Transit

The winners of the 9th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival (Cinemalaya 2013) were revealed Sunday night (August 4) in a ceremony held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) in Pasay City.

Jerrold Tarog's Sana Dati and Hannah Espia‘s Transit were the big winners of the night, clinching the most awards in the Director's Showcase and New Breed category, respectively including Best Film.

Meanwhile, Star for all Seasons Vilma Santos was hailed Best Actress for her role as a bit player in Ektra directed by Jeffrey Jeturian. Anne Curtis' sister, Jasmine Curtis-Smith bagged the Best Supporting Actress trophy for her performance in Transit.

Here are the winners of the 9th Cinemalaya 2013:

	DIRECTOR’S SHOWCASE	NEW BREED	SHORT FILMS
Best Film	Sana Dati	Transit	The Houseband’s Wife
Best Director	Jerrold Tarog, Sana Dati	Hannah Espia, Transit	JE Tiglao, Onang
Best Actress	Vilma Santos (Ekstra)	Irma Adlawan, Transit
Best Actor	(No winner)	Mimi Juareza, Quick Change
Best Supporting Actress	Ruby Ruiz, Ekstra	Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Transit
Best Supporting Actor	TJ Trinidad, Sana Dati	Joey Paras, Babagwa
Best Screenplay	Zig Dulay, Antoinette Jadaone, and Jeffrey Jeturian, Ekstra	Eduardo Roy Jr., Quick Change	Paolo O’Hara, The Houseband’s Wife
Best Cinematography	Mackie Galvez, Sana Dati	Ber Cruz and Lyle Nemenzo Sacris, Transit
Best Production Design	Ericson Navarro, Sana Dati	Roy Red, Rekorder
Best Editing	Pats R. Ranyo (Jerrold Tarog), Sana Dati	Benjamin Tolentino and Hannah Espia, Transit
Best Original Music	Jerrold Tarog, Sana Dati	Mon Espia, Transit
Best Sound	Roger TJ Ladro (Jerrold Tarog), Sana Dati	Albert Michael Idioma, Quick Change
NETPAC Award	Ekstra	Transit
Special Jury Prize	Ekstra	Quick Change	Taya
Audience Choice Award	Ekstra	Transit	Taya
Special Citation for Ensemble Acting		The Cast of Transit

The 9th Cinemalaya Film Festival 2013 run from July 26 to August 4 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and in selected theaters at Greenbelt, TriNoma and Alabang Town Center.

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Ekstra (The Bit Player) Cinemalaya Trailer - Vilma Santos, Marian Rivera, Piolo Pascual, Richard Yap

Check out the Cinemalaya trailer of the movie Ekstra (The Bit Player) starring Vilma Santos with special participation of Marian Rivera, Piolo Pascual and Richard Yap. The movie is an entry in the Director's Showcase category of the 2013 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

Ekstra (The Bit Player) is a socio-realist drama-comedy film, which follows a seemingly usual day in the life of Loida Malabanan (Vilma Santos) as she embarks on yet another shooting day of a soap opera (Una Kang Naging Akin Book 2) as an extra. 

Produced by Quatum Films, Ekstra is directed by Jeffrey Jeturian and also features Cherie Gil, Pilar Pilapil, Eula Valdes, Cherry Pie Picache, Ronaline Enriquez, Tart Carlos, Abby Niesta, Marlon Rivera, and Vince de Jesus. Watch the Cinemalaya trailer of Ekstra below.

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