Laila Ulao Best Actress in 1st ASEAN-China Filmfest

MANILA, Philippines — Laila Ulao (photo) won Best Actress for Women of the Weeping River in the First ASEAN-China Film Festival held in Malaysia on Dec. 4. The film’s director, Sheron Dayoc, received the award on Ulao’s behalf.

Ulao won Best Actress awards for the same film in the 2016 QCinema International Film Festival and 2017 Young Critics Circle. 

Shot in Zamboaga City and Jolo with an ensemble cast of non-actors from the Western Mindanao region, Women of the Weeping River is the story of “two women in a remote Muslim community confront an escalating blood feud and reach deep into themselves in hopes to undo the feud stretching back generations.”

The ASEAN-China Film Festival was established in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Association of Southeast Asian Nations and to develop a long-term exchange and cooperation platform for the ASEAN film industry. Thirty-one films, eight from China and 23 from ASEAN members, were screened during the festival, Dec. 1 to 5. Next year’s edition will be held in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China.