UP grad beauty queen wins acting award in New York

A Filipina-American beauty queen won an acting award in an international film festival in New York City, a report of the news site "Asian Journal" said.  

The report said Liza Diño, runner-up in the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant in 2001, received the lone acting citation in the 2011 International Film Festival Manhattan (IFFM) held in New York City last November 18.  

Diño was cited for her role in the Filipino independent film “Compound,” a psychological thriller directed by Will Fredo. The newspaper report likewise said that “Compound” was “the only Filipino film to have a repeat screening” during the IFFM. Diño, a speech communication graduate from the University of the Philippines, has also earlier starred in several full-length and independent films in the country, such as “Sinungaling na Buwan,” “Mona” and “Pinay Pie.”  

The Fil-Am beauty queen said she was “shocked” when she realized she had won the acting award.  

“They had to call me twice to come up on stage, but I think the beauty queen in me took over because I felt too composed during my speech. I can’t even remember what I said… It’s like you’re floating,” she said in the report.  

She also expressed pride about the opportunity to represent the country in an international film festival.  

“It’s such a great feeling to be validated as an actress, for something that you do out of passion and love for the art,” she said. - VVP, GMA News