Therese 'Teri' Malvar, Youngest International Best Actress Winner, Glad Her Debut Film, 'Huling Cha Cha Ni Anita', Is Finally Being Released In Theaters This Friday

 

THERESE “Teri” MALVAR was only 12 years old when she played the title role in “Ang Huling Cha Cha ni Anita”, which won best picture in the Cine Filipino Filmfest 2013. The film is about the sexual awakening of a young lesbian girl. Teri has no previous acting experience when she auditioned for the role but, as luck would have it, she even bagged the best actress award at the Cine Filipino Filmfest awards night and defeated a much more accomplished actress in that category, Nora Aunor no less. How did she feel about it?

“Never ko pong nilagay sa isip ko na tinalo si ganun o si ganito, kasi baka maging feelingera ako,” she says. “Ako naman, I just did my best with the help of our director, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo. As a child, never pumasok sa isip ko o pinangarap kong mag-aartista ako kapag lumaki na ako. Nag-audition ako dahil gusto ng mommy ko, katuwaan lang, and after I won na, biglang may iba nang offers, sabi ng mommy ko, hala, paano na ito?”

Since then, she has won an international acting award at the Moscow Filmfest for her role as a wayward street kid in “Hamog”. She gained more positive reviews for her role as an evil spirit in “Ilawod” and she has also branched into TV doing soaps. She’s currently in GMA-7’s hit afternoon drama, ‘Legally Blind’ as the sister of Janine Gutierrez.

In “Huling Cha Cha ni Anita”, she is a barrio girl who has a big crush on a balikbayan who came to town, Angel Aquino. She’s so enamoured with Angel but when they were required to do a kissing scene, she wouldn’t do it.

“Nahihiya kasi ako,” she says. “So kinausap talaga nila ako, si Direk Sigrid, si Miss Angel, gawin ko na raw para matapos ang eksena. Consider it na lang as a maternal kiss from Miss Angel. So I did it, pero pagkatapos, iyak ako nang iyak kaya binilhan nila ako ng ice cream. But recently, pinaulit sa’min yung scene para sa promo trailer ng movie at ginawa ko na agad. Hindi na ako nahihiya.”

Now is your chance to watch the award-winning performances of Teri and Angel in “Huling Cha Cha ni Anita”, which will open tomorrow, June 16, at SM Cinemas as part of Cine Lokal for only P120. Don’t miss it.