Andrea Brillantes Wins Best Acting Performance at London's Women and the World International Film Festival for LAYA: The Film Was the Sole Southeast Asian Entry in Its Competition and Opens in the Philippines on November 25
LONDON, United Kingdom — Philippine actress Andrea Brillantes won Best Acting Performance at the 2026 Women and the World International Film Festival in London for the drama LAYA. The film held its international premiere at the festival as the sole Southeast Asian entry in the Feature Fiction Competition.
The award followed the film's November 12 media launch, attended by lead stars Brillantes and JC Santos alongside director Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo.
Brillantes plays Sab in the film. She said portraying Sab challenged her to explore the complexities of being human, describing the character's journey as a mix of pain, forgiveness and the courage to choose compassion, and thanked the director, the producers and the crew for helping her become Sab.
The film follows Sab, who arrives in a quiet seaside town to exact revenge on Tuki, a reclusive former convict she holds responsible for her father's death. As an unexpected bond forms between them, she must decide whether to carry out her retribution or break free from the cycle of violence.
LAYA was written and directed by Bernardo and produced by Rein Entertainment Productions with backing from the Film Development Council of the Philippines' CreatePH Large Budget Production Grant. It opens in Philippine cinemas nationwide on November 25.
Source: Manila Bulletin
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：菲律宾女演员安德烈娅·布里兰特斯（Andrea Brillantes）。Jmmanalo20 摄，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Filipino actress Andrea Brillantes. Photo by Jmmanalo20, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
