MANILA, Philippines — Romnick Sarmenta delivered an emotional acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for his performance in Jun Robles Lana’s About Us But Not About Us at the first summer Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Gabi ng Parangal.
During the awards ceremony held at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City on Tuesday night, the veteran actor dedicated his “unexpected” feat to his mother, children and partner who have always been supportive of him.
He also thanked direk Jun, his co-star Elijah Canlas, who was also nominated in the Best Actor category, The IdeaFirst Company and the rest of the production team behind the film. The movie was also produced by Octoberian Films and Quantum Films.
“I also dedicate this to everyone. This is not just mine. Thank you very much to the jury for noticing the work we’ve done. Most of all, sa lahat ng manggagawang Pilipino sa film industry. This is for us. Thank you very much,” he added.
In the psychological thriller-drama, Romnick plays a gay university professor (Eric) who meets up with his former student Elijah (Lancelot). Secrets unfold as the two characters engage in a conversation inside a restaurant for almost two hours.
“When I read the script of About Us But Not About Us, I got excited sa premise and the promise of the story. When I read the entire script, ibang klaseng storya,” he shared with the audience during the awards night.
About Us But Not About Us also bagged the Best Director award for Jun, Best Picture, Best Production Design for Maolen Fadul, Best Editing for Lawrence Ang, Best Cinematography for Neil Daza, Best Musical Score for Teresa Barrozo, Best Sound for Arman de Guzman and Best Screenplay for Jun, and Special Jury Prize for Elijah.
The movie was earlier named Best Film award at the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia.
In a press conference prior to the awards night, Romnick said that he considers every project given to him a gift. “Whether it’s a cameo, a support or a big job because you get to tell a story of another person. And a lot of times, it includes you.”
He believed that it’s both “impersonal and personal when you work as an actor. Impersonal kasi maaring hindi yun yung kwento mo. But it is also personal because you use your own emotion in telling the story.
“And like what direk Jun said, there are times when we are healed by the things that we do. I’d like to think that a lot of those scenes and lot of those words were also able to make me reflect on some things and heal from them.”
“So, it’s a gift to be asked to do it. To work with all of them. To be part of the film. And whatever talent is being set that I have, that’s a gift from God, so I’m just grateful,” he shared.
Looking back on his 46-year acting career, the veteran actor recalled the times when he thought about quitting showbiz. “The first, I think, was when I was a teenager. There was a bad write-up about my mom. It was very personal. It wasn’t true and it affected me.”
“And then, siguro mga mid-20s at one point, I wanted to stop,” he went on. “And then, nung magpamilya ako, I stopped actually for several years. I would accept guesting every now and then, but I was more interested in taking care of my children.”
“And then, the later part of 2000s, I wanted to focus on business. But yun, I have friends who would call up and said, gawin natin ‘to together and I couldn’t say no to some of them, so I kept coming back,” he said.
He also didn’t have regrets on having an onscreen partner during his younger years. Romnick and Sheryl Cruz’s love team was popular back in the ‘80s.
“I think love teams have their place. I mean if you are in that age bracket, I think may pwesto siya, eh. Kung 30 na ako, tapos sinabi sa akin na kailangan mong mag-love team, sasabihin ko… ‘Ano? Trenta na ko, love team pa?’”
“But I was in that age and it was in my path at that time, so no regrets. It’s all part of it. I had to learn something from it also,” he asserted.
On being a child actor, he didn’t feel “deprived” of his youth for working at an early age in showbiz. “It’s subjective (depending on how you view it). Depende sa’yo yan, eh,” he maintained.
“You know, if you wanna think about it, I mean let’s face it, this business can be very brutal. It takes away a lot of your time. It takes away your studies if you allow it. It will take away your relationships if you allow it to. It will take (away) a lot of your happiness. If you allow it to.
“At the same time, if you know the reason why you are doing it and if that reason is enough to make you happy, you will remain happy,” he added.
Romnick continued: “I can’t speak about other people’s experience kasi iba yan, eh, personal experience yun. Iba yun, personal process yun. Acceptance, thinking, tolerance — whatever you wanna call it. For me, there can be some things that I can be sour about with this business. But when I look at it, from a different perspective, I just have to find a reason to be grateful whatever it is.”
Nevertheless, Romnick, now 50, said he is “grateful for everything that I have gone through.”
He added, “Some of them may not have been nice, or some of them may have been painful. But I’m grateful for the lesson afterwards and what I learned because of that, so OK lang.”