Lilia Dizon: The Prince and I

1956 was an eventful year for Lilia Dizon.

It was the year she won the coveted Best Actress award for Kandelerong Pilak at the Cambodian Film Festival, which had 27 entries in competition.

Lilia was not around during the award ceremonies, but no less than the Prince of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, hand-carried the plaque to give it to the actress. Prince Norodom later became King and Prime Minister.

The prince visited LVN Studios, where stars led by Lilia and producer Manny de Leon entertained him. The prince loved Filipino films and was even linked to a Filipina actress from LVN, which produced Kandelerong Pilak, directed by Lamberto Avellana.

In the same year, 1956, Lilia toured the United States where she met the legendary actor Marlon Brando and television star Lucille Ball.

Incidentally, five years ago, Robert Malengreau of Brussels International Film Festival and some Filipino friends gifted Sihanouk with a copy of a book I published in 1994, The Golden years: Memorable Tagalog Movie Ads 1946-1956. The ad of Kandelerong Pilak came out in the book.— RKC