IN her speech as the three-time CCP-NCCA Ani ng Dangal awardee, the Grand Dame of Philippine Cinema Nora Aunor revealed her plan to direct either indie films or a TV drama soon.
The statement was met with rousing applause and merited a standing ovation from a hundred awardees and guest-artists.
It’s about time, they said, considering her decades of experience in acting.
Nora took the floor to speak on behalf of the honorees including Richard Gomez, Sid Lucero, Allen Dizon, Cherie Gil, Aiko Melendez, Meryl Soriano, Emilio Garcia, Epy Quizon, LJ Reyes, Liza Dino, Brillante Mendoza, Perci Intalan, Louie Ignacio, Berbardo Bernardo, Micko Laurente, and other awardees from various fields of the arts. Here is the citation of honor presented to Nora:
“Ms. NORA AUNOR is a three-time ANI NG DANGAL awardee for winning international Best Actress awards in 2012 for ‘Thy Womb’ at the 6th Annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Brisbane Australia and Bisato de Oro, Venice Italy; in 2013 for ‘Thy Womb’ at 7th Asian Film Awards, Hong Kong and 3rd Sakhalin Intl Film Festival, Russia; in 2015 at St. Tropez International Filmfest, France for ‘Dementia.’ The 2nd ASEAN International Film Festival & Awards in Malaysia named her the Grand Dame of Philippine Cinema as she was bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. The title she richly deserved being the only actor to be honored with 14 Best Actress awards and citations from five continents – Africa, Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. Overall, she was handed 90 Best Actress awards locally, 280 awards from the film, TV, radio, music, stage, and 18 Lifetime Achievement Awards from the academe and entertainment industry.”
In our last conversation over the phone, the superstar shared her misgivings for not having attended the last Star Awards for Movies because she was sick.
She was supposed to present a posthumous award to her friend, the late German Moreno. She said she would have wanted to personally hand out the Nora Aunor Ulirang Artista award to Ms. Amalia Fuentes who is still recuperating from a stroke.
She recalled how she idolized Amalia as the most beautiful actress in Asia during her prime.
The Nora Aunor Ulirang Artista award is presented yearly through the auispices of the Philippine Movie Press Club.
Nora also informed that her TV series GMA 7’s “Little Nanay” will end on March 18.
She invites the public to watch her new film, “Whistle Blower,” which will start screening on April 6. The film, directed by Adolf Alix, Jr., also stars Angelica Panganiban as a fearless investigative reporter and Cherie Pie Picache as a corrupt government official. (PIT M. MALIKSI)