Judy Ann Santos bags best actress plum at 45th Fantasporto Film Festival
Judy Ann Santos during the Fantasporto Film Festival. Images: Instagram/@officialjudayph
Judy Ann Santos brought home the Best Actress award for her performance in “Espantaho (or Scarecrow)” at the 45th Fantasporto Film Festival in Porto, Portugal.
Santos bagged the coveted award at the Portugal-based film festival during its awards night at the Batalha Centro de Cinema, making her the fourth Filipino to win a plum at the international film festival.
In her acceptance speech, the actress said it is an honor to represent the Philippines at the film festival while expressing her gratitude to its jury and her loved ones, as seen in a clip reposted on Instagram.
“[The trophy] is heavy. This has a lot of excess baggage when I get home,” Santos quipped before thanking the film’s team and her loved ones.
“I would like to thank the jury of Fantasporto for the recognition. It is with great pride and honor that I represent my country which is the Philippines and share this award with my director, Chito Roño, our writer Chris Martinez, and my producer, Atty. Joji [Alonso], and of course my ‘Espantaho’ team, my husband, and three children, they have always been my inspiration,” she continued.
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Santos was congratulated by her husband Ryan Agoncillo, the film’s production company Quantum Films, Alonso, and Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) spokesperson Noel Ferrer on their respective social media platforms.
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This year, the four juries of the 45th edition of the OPORTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL- FANTASPORTO have given us a truly astonishing list of winners.
In the Fantasy Film main competition section, the Asian star, Judy Ann Santos won for her performance in SCARECROW. pic.twitter.com/ASBjSQ4F1k
— joji alonso (@attyjoji) March 8, 2025
Santos also bagged the Best Actress award at the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival Gabi ng Parangal in December of last year for her portrayal.
Other Filipinos who bagged an acting plum at the Portugal-based film festival were Barbie Forteza, Ian Veneracion, and Cristine Reyes in “Laut (2016),” “Ilawod (2018),” and “UnTrue (2020),” respectively.
Also known as Fantas, the Fantasporto Film Festival aims to give a platform for films of the horror, fantasy, science fiction, auteur, and experimental genres. It is founded by Mario Dorminsky, Beatriz Pacheco Pereira, and Jose Manuel Pereira in 1981.
