The first Pinoy to win Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival

Bagging the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival is a huge feat in and of itself but winning it as the first Pinoy makes it an even more historic moment. Director Erik Matti accepted Arcilla’s Volpi Cup in behalf of him since the actor couldn’t make it to the awards ceremony. “I will not be able to kiss my own Volpi Cup there in the middle of Venice and on that red carpet just like the other 77 great actors whom I admire who have already kissed their own,” said Arcilla during his virtual speech.

“I know that we come from different countries, and we have different languages and cultures. And yet, I can feel oneness tonight. And I can feel that you understand me, and we understand each other because of the art of cinema. So, thank you so much,” the actor added.

The actor later posted the full version of his virtual speech on Instagram.

Opposite Arcilla, Penelope Cruz won Best Actress for her role as a a single mother in Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers.

 

On the Job: The Missing 8

On the Job: The Missing 8 or OTJ 2 is a sequel to the award-winning 2013 film On the Job which starred Gerald Anderson and Joel Torre. It’s the lone Philippine entry to the Venice Film Festival’s main competition. Arcilla portrays Sisoy Salas, a corrupt radio journalist who looks into the disappearance of his colleagues. It also stars Dennis Trillo as Roman Rubio, an inmate who falls into the gun-for-hire business.

OTJ 2 is directed by Erik Matti and written by Michiko Yamamoto. It also stars Lotlot de Leon, Christopher de Leon, Dante Rivero, Leo Martinez, and Joey Marquez.

 

A five-minute standing ovation

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival last Sept 10 where it received a five-minute standing ovation. Arcilla shared the proud moment on his Instagram:

 

Manifesting his win

A day before his win was announced, Arcilla actually took to Instagram to post a roster of the previous winners of the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. He captioned the post with “I wish we can have one someday! Hahahaha if you dream as they say. Dream big! God bless everyone.” That’s proof right there that with hard work, faith, and manifestation, you just might get what you dream of the most.

 

Who are the previous winners of the Volpi Cup for Best Actor?

Arcilla’s win earned him a golden ticket to be part of the roster of elite best actors — an addition to the very same set of photos he posted on Instagram. That includes Willem Dafoe (Vincent Van Gogh), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Brad Pitt (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), and Ben Affleck (Hollywoodland) to name a few.

 

Dennis Trillo also had quite an experience

 

While Arcilla couldn’t make it to the ceremony, his co-actor Dennis Trillo did and boy did he have the time of his life. Trillo met Parasite writer and director Bong Joon Ho, who is also the president of the jury for this year’s Venice Film Fest. He even got his autograph on his copy of the Parasite graphic novel. And as seen in a video, the South Korean director praised Trillo for his role in On the Job: The Missing 8: “We all loved you in the film. You were so great!”

Aside from Bong, English actress Cynthia Erivo and Canadian actress Sarah Gadon also congratulated the Filipino actor. All three were part of this year’s jury. Trillo also got to meet Nomadland director Chloé Zhao.

 

 

Where can you watch On The Job: The Missing 8?

You can watch the film when it streams on HBO Go as part of On The Job, an HBO Asia Original series. The series will have six episodes — 1 and 2 are extended versions of the 2013 On The Job while episodes 3 to 6 are an extended version of The Missing 8. The first three episodes were released last Sept 12 while the rest is set for Sept 19.

 

Where else can you watch John Arcilla?

If the local and international film community didn’t know of him before, they do now. And the next step to getting to know him is getting your hands on more films Arcilla has starred in. There’s Heneral Luna (2015), a historic biopic by Jerrold Tarog where Arcilla portrayed the titular character, General Antonio Luna. It was the highest grossing Filipino historical film of all time at more than P240 million. Watch it on Netflix.

Mikhail Red’s thriller film Birdshot (2016) also starred Arcilla as Mendoza, a corrupt police officer. He attempts to redirect the investigation of farmers on a bus en route to Manila to complain about unfair treatment. Quite the opposite of his patriotic character in Heneral Luna but with stellar acting nonetheless. Watch Birdshot on Netflix.

Those who want to see Arcilla’s acting chops on a move that isn’t drama, action, or thriller can do so with Jun Lana’s comedy film, Panti Sisters (2019). Arcilla is the presumably dying patriarch of the Panti family who wants to see a his first grandchild. The only problem is all his sons are gay. It’s available on Netflix.

Aside from OTJ, his most recent work is Suarez: The Healing Priest where he portrays the titular Fr. Fernando Suarez, a faith healer.

 

 

 

 

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