Nora Aunor: "Hindi lamang tayo dapat tumigil kung nasaan tayo ngayon. Sa mga susunod na gagawin mo, kailangan pumili ka pa rin ng pelikula na gagawin mo na mahalaga at kapupulutan ng aral.”
MANILA, Philippines – “Katulad ng sinasabi ko noon—kung para sa atin, para sa atin. Kung hindi, marami pa namang pagkakataon,” Nora Aunor said on her exclusion from the list of new National Artists.
In an interview after the awarding ceremony of the 10th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival on Sunday, Nora said she cherishes the support she received from the public over the issue.
“Gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa nakipaglaban at nakikipaglaban hanggang ngayon. Doon pa lang, parang nanalo na ako,” she said. “Sa mga tao pa lang na nagmamahal, wala na akong masasabi.”
Thanking her fans, Nora said: “Sila ang inspirasyon ko.”
The 61-year-old actress was named best actress in the Directors Showcase category of the 2014 Cinemalaya indie film fest.
“Iba ang award sa atin e,” Nora said when asked why her Cinemalaya acting award is special compared to the recognition she received from award-giving bodies abroad. “Kapag binigayan ka ng award dito sa atin at (mula) sa kapwa mo kababayan, syempre iba ang pakiramdam kaysa sa ibang bansa, di ba?”
She added, “Mas mahal ko kung ano man ang binibigay na karangalan sa atin dito sa Pilipinas.”
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Nora Aunor with "Hustisya" writer Ricky Lee (Photo by Jonathan Asuncion)
Nora has another film to be released this year—the horror film “Dementia,” which also stars TV5 star Jasmine Curtis-Smith.
“Hindi ko lang maisip pero marami pa akong dapat pag-aralan bilang artista,” she said. “Hindi lamang tayo dapat tumigil kung nasaan tayo ngayon. Sa mga susunod na gagawin mo, kailangan pumili ka pa rin ng pelikula na gagawin mo na mahalaga at kapupulutan ng aral.”
Nora's win coincides with the independent film fest's most recent controversy. Filmmakers criticized Cinemalaya over the weekend after the films from the 2012 and 2013 batch of festival were uploaded on Youtube.
Cinemalaya Foundation president Nestor Jardin apologized to the filmmakers over the incident and called for a dialogue with concerned parties.
Nora said the uploading of the films online is like stealing. “Hindi dapat. Para sa akin, hindi siguro dapat. Dapat kung ilalabas man nila, magpaalam sila sa producer,” she said.
She added: “Malaking kawalan din yun sa producer kasi napapanood nila ng libre (yung pelikula).”