Mary Joy Apostol, the lead actress of the Filipino film Birdshot, was named as Best Actress in the 2017 ASEAN Film Awards.
This was revealed by Liza Diño, chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, when she congratulated the 19-year-old actress through her Facebook account.
Mary Joy won for her portrayal of a young farm girl who accidentally shot and killed a Philippine eagle in a reservation forest.
Directed by Mikhail Red, Birdshot was one of the films that competed in the 1st ASEAN Film Awards held in Da Nang, Vietnam.
The Singaporean film A Yellow Bird was chosen as Best Film while its lead star Sivakumar Palakrishnan was chosen as Best Actor.
The ASEAN Film Awards is an auxiliary show of the 20th Vietnam Film Festival dedicated to directors in the ASEAN region.
As the Philippines' official entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category, Birdshot is vying for an Oscar in the 2018 Academy Awards.