Bea Alonzo film '1521' wins at Sweden Film Festival amid controversy
MANILA, Philippines — The historical-romance drama "1521: The Quest for Freedom" starring Bea Alonzo has been recognized as a winner at the monthly Sweden Film Awards (SFA) for September.
The SFA is different from the prestigious Guldbagge Awards, overseen by the Swedish Film Institute to recognize annually achievements in the Swedish film industry.
One of the movie's producers Francis Ho shared on his Instagram account the email he had received from the SFA acknowledging the film's achievement, noting it was the first award received by "1521" which also won Best Cinematography for a Feature Film.
"My family offers this historic WIN as a gift to our Inang Bayan at buong sambayanang Pilipino on our 125th Independence Day as well as to all our Kababayans sa Amerika on our FILAM History Month!!!" said Ho, dedicating the win to Filipino-Americans and Filipinos around the world. "MABUHAY ANG LAHING KAYUMANGGI!!!"
"1521" is set during the Spanish pre-colonial era of the Philippines and tells the story of Diwata (Alonzo) who falls in love with Ferdinand Magellan's (Danny Trejo) translator Enrique (Hector David Jr.).
The movie, however, has been involved in recent controversy after a member of Alonzo's team told talent manager Ogie Diaz that the actress allegedly did not have a good experience working on the film.
The staff member claimed that Alonzo had to come up with her own costume, covered the accommodations of her team, and the production was an "unsafe" environment.
Ho has since denied such claims through a representative, saying that Alonzo brought more staff members than initially agreed upon, did not show up for costume fitting, and "redesigned her outfit according to her style."
"1521" — which also stars Filipino-American actor Michael Copon as Lapu-Lapu and Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan as Diwata's sister Ahmani — has yet to be released in the Philippines.
RELATED: Trailer for '1521' starring Bea Alonzo, Danny Trejo, Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan finally drops
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