'Magkakabaung' carts off major awards in Gawad Urian

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Kapampangan independent film "Magkakabaung" bagged the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress Awards in the 38th Gawad Urian Awards at the ABS-CBN Studio, Tuesday Night.

Actor Allen Dizon won the Gawad Urian Best Actor. The best actor recognition is the recent addition to best actor awards for Allen Dizon under "Magkakabaung".

Meanwhile, the Gawad Urian Best Supporting Actress went to actress Gladys Reyes.

The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Filipino Film Critics).

It could be remembered that "Magkakabaung" bagged awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Film with its lead actor Allen Dizon also winning Best Actor and sharing the honor stage with actresses Nora Aunor and Angelica Panganiban in the recent 13th Gawad Tanglaw.

The film also won for its director Jason Laxamana the Hanoi Film Festival award. The award is the first international film award for Laxamana, a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication and a script supervisor at Star Cinema as well as production assistant to directors Jeffrey Jeturian and Maryo J. De Los Reyes during his college days.

Dizon also won his first international Best Actor Award at the Ninth Harlem International Film Festival in New York on September 14 for his role in the film shot in Sto. Tomas town, Pampanga's casket capital.

"Magkakabaung," was produced by film writer and director Jason Paul Laxamana entirely in the Kapampangan language, shot, and tells the story of a casket factory worker, played by actor Allen Dizon, who brought up his eight-year-old daughter alone after his wife left him, and then accidentally caused the death of the girl by administering the wrong medicine.

The story portrays the "magkakabaung's" attempts to ease his remorse over his daughter’s death as he faces challenges in taking her body from the hospital and having her buried.