MANILA/TOKYO – “Sobrang thankful po kami sa Japanese audience at sa lahat po ng mga kababayans natin diyan sa Japan.”
These were the words enthused by actress Charlie Dizon during a recently held media conference for her dark coming-of-age movie “Fan Girl” directed by Antoinette Jadaone.
The 24-year-old newcomer shared what she thought was the best part of her Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) virtual experience, where “Fan Girl” had its world premiere being the lone Filipino entry in the Tokyo Premiere 2020 lineup.
“Bukod sa ang daming questions, nakita namin talaga na interesado talaga ‘yung Japanese audience at paulit-ulit din ‘yung host na kino-compliment ‘yung pelikula namin,” she told Filipino-Japanese Journal (FJJ) via Zoom.
“Fan Girl” received the most number of questions during a live stream Q&A forum called Talk Salon. It is a series of online talk sessions between audiences, directors and stars of last year’s TIFF selections.
“Sobrang nakakakilig po na natanggap talaga sa ibang bansa yung pelikula namin,” Charlie said.
“Thank you for supporting ‘Fan Girl’. Thank you na na-appreciate nila yung ginawa ko sa pelikula. Sobrang thank you rin sa mga reactions nila, naging vocal talaga sila and ‘yun po ‘yung nakatulong talaga para umingay din yung pelikula kasi doon [TIFF] po namin unang pinalabas,” she added.
Charlie won the Best Actress award at the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) for her portrayal of Jane, a high school fangirl who is obsessed with actor Paulo Avelino, who played as himself in the film. Jane’s obsession with Paulo leads her to follow him home, where she finds herself in an unfamiliar place and meets the other side of her idol who she thought she knows inside and out.
Aside from this feat for Charlie, the film also bagged the following awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Jadaone, Best Actor for Avelino, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Virtual Float (Third Place).
“Fan Girl” is available for streaming in Japan via KTx.ph from Jan. 8 to Feb. 7. For TFC IPTV, you may see it from Jan. 8 to 21. While for iWantTFC, the selling period is from Jan. 8 to 19, and the viewing period is from Jan. 8 to 21. You may stream the movie for 48 hours upon purchase (610 yen). - Florenda Corpuz