Aiko Melendez wins Best Actress Awards at the London International Filmakers Festival of World Cinema

Aiko Melendez has proven once more her acting caliber. She recently bagged the highly-coveted Best Lead Actress in a Foreign Language Film award from the 7th International Filmmakers Festival of World Cinema in London for Direk Louie Ignacio’s Asintado (Between the Eyes).

Photo: aikomelendez instagram

Aiko bested seven other actresses from different countries in the same category - international actresses Charlotte Munck for “Meeres Stille,” Marianna Panagidou for “Butterfly,” Sveva Alviti for “Borderline,” Jung Ho for “Diary,” Anqi Liu for “Belief,” Laia Forte for “Distanza,” Thaila Ayala for “(Des)Encontros,” and Shahana Chatterjee for “Picnic.”

The movie, which is an official Cinemalaya entry last year, is Aiko’s first foray into indie film. In Asintado, Aiko plays Julia, a widowed mother of two who finds herself at the crossroads of choosing between saving her older son or risking her younger son’s safety. The story is situated in a town in Nueva Eciija and takes place during the Taong Putik festival.

Aiko was not able to attend the grand event in London because of prior showbiz commitments: she is part of the cast of ABS-CBN’s Inday Bote and an indie film titled Daluyong. Asintado director, Louis Ignacio, accepted the award for Melendez.

“This award somehow boosted my confidence and it made me love myself more,” says Aiko. “But the honor isn’t just mine alone. It’s for every Filipino.”

Aiko also expressed her gratitude for the recognition through her Instagram account. She dedicated her award to her children Andrei Yllana and Marthena Jickain.

Aiko is a Backroom artist. For inquiries, call Backroom Inc at 4351108, 4351120 and 9280717 or email us at backroominc@hotmail.com. 

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