Rosemarie was first launched by Premiere Productions in 1958 when she was 18 years old playing the title role in “Santa Rita de Casia”. She was paired with singing idol Eddie Mesa in “Aawitan Kita” in 1959 and they got married, producing three kids: Michael, Cherie and the late Mark. Her other memorable movies are “Pagdating sa Dulo” with Ishmael Bernal, “Ganito Kami Noon” with Eddie Romero and “Burlesk Queen” with Celso Ad. Castillo for which she won a best supporting actress award. She’s 78 and now makes a comeback in “Delia and Sammy” where she plays an aging actress with terminal illness who wants to reconnect with her family from whom she’s alienated.
Beth O is younger at 64 and has won various acting awards for films like “Lumapit, Lumayo ang Umaga” by Ishmael Bernal, “Bulaklak ng Maynila” by Joel Lamangan, “Laman” by Maryo de los Reyes and “Milagros” by Marilou Diaz-Abaya. In the Cine Filipino entry, “Excuse Mo Po”, she has an attention-getting role as an old woman who pretends she’s helpless but is actually a swindler who approach people in the street asking for money allegedly for transportation fare.
Then there’s Glydel Mercado, 43 years old, who scored a grand slam as best supporting actress for Joel Lamangan’s “Sidhi”, where she upstaged Ate Guy no less who played a more colorful role as a deaf mute. Glydel’s entry is “Poon, The Image”, where she plays a religious fanatic who brings home the image of a saint called San Vargas and this triggers a series of terrifying events in her life.
Much younger candidates are Yeng Constantino and Kate Alejandrino. Yeng, 29 years old, is the grand winner in “Pinoy Dream Academy” in 2006. Better known as a singer-songwriter, she has many hit songs to her credit, especially “Hawak Kamay”. In 2013, she starred in the Cinema One entry, “Shift”, where she played a call center agent in love with her gay best friend. She won acclaim for her no frills acting and she now stars in her Cine Filipino entry, “The Eternity Between Seconds”, where she plays a Filipino-Korean about to meet her Korean dad for the first time.
Kate Alejandrino has played supporting roles in indie films “Baka Bukas”, Moonlight Over Baler”, “Lila”, “Dormitoryo” and “Respeto”. She now plays the lead title role in the Cine Filipino filmfest entry, “Mga MIster ni Rosario”. As Rosario, she is married to Joross Gamboa, an actor who carries to their home whatever role he is playing in the project he’s currently doing. A problem arises when Joross plays a murderer and Kate becomes his target.
Among the actors, the ones who’d compete for best actor are Edgar Allan Guzman as a soldier who loses one eye in the war but gains a third eye in “Mata Tapang”, Joross Gamboa as the actor who plays different kinds of roles in “Mga Mister ni Rosario”, Jaime Fabregas as the aging husband afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease in “Delia and Sammy”, child actor Adrian Cabido as the title roler in “Hitboy” about a kiddie assassin, TJ Trinidad as a writer and motivational speaker who is manic depressive in “The Eternity Between Seconds”, and the four actors of “Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus”, Nicco Manalo, Dylan Talon, Soliman Cruz and Anthony Falcon as men whose lives are intertwined by fate. In the best supporting actor category, it’s said Nico Antonio is a good bet as the caring driver in “Delia and Sammy”, but we shouldn’t count our Aaron Villaflor and Jerald Napoles who also gave good support to EA Guzman in “Mata Tapang”. We will find out who the winners are on the awards night of Cine Filipino to be held on May 12 at the Kia Theatre.
