In the 49-year history of Thessaloniki International Film Festival, two actors were tied for the Best Actor prize and they're both Filipino.

Emilio Garcia and Sid Lucero, both stars of the indie film “Selda” (The Inmate), was awarded Best Actor in the 49th Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece which started on November 14 and concluded on November 23, 2008.

Selda, which was co-directed by Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos, was the first Filipino film to compete in the said festival. The film is about a young man (played by Sid Lucero) who is imprisoned for defending his wife (played by Ara Mina). He then meets a fellow inmate (played by Emilio) who helps him adjust to life inside prison.

Here is the complete list of winners in the 49th Thessaloniki Film Festival:

• Best Feature Film Award – Golden Alexander
AAN JA, (OVER THERE)
by Abdolreza Kahani, Iran

• Special Jury Award – Silver Alexander
PESCUIT SPORTIV, (HOOKED)
by Adrian Sitaru, Romania/France

• Best Director Award
CELINA MURGA
for Una Semana Solos (A Week Alone),
Producers Juan Villegas, Inés Gamarci, Argentina

• Best Screenplay Award
MATTHEW NEWTON
for Three Blind Mice, by Matthew Newton, Producer Ben Davis, Australia

• Best Actress Award ex aequo
IOANA FLORA AND MARIA DINULESCU
for Pescuit Sportiv (Hooked),
by Adrian Sitaru, Producers Adrian Sitaru,
Marie-Pierre Macia, Juliette Lepoutre, Romania/France

• Best Actor Award ex aequo
SID LUCERO AND EMILIO GARCIA
for SELDA (The Inmate), by Ellen Ramos and Paolo Villaluna,
Producer Josephine Saba, Philippines

• Artistic Achievement Award
SZABOLCS TOLNAI, for Fövenyóra (Hourglass),
Producers György Durst, Miroslav Mogorovic,
Szabolcs Tolnai, Hungary/Serbia/Montenegro

• Special Mention
DIASTÉME, for Le Bruit des Gens Autour (Sunny Spells),
Producers Thomas Anargyros, Edouard de Vésinne, France

• HUMAN VALUES AWARD
ΤΕΖΑ by Haile Gerima, Germany

• WOMAN & EQUALITY AWARD
SNIJEG /SNOW by Aida Begić,
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Germany, France, Iran

• EVERYDAY LIFE: TRANSCENDENCE OR RECONCILIATION AWARD
FIRAAQ by Nandita Das, India

• “THE CINEMA AND THE CITY” AWARD
OF TIME AND THE CITY by Terence Davies, Great Britain

• FIPRESCI AWARD
VOY A EXPLOTAR (I’m Gonna Explode), by Gerardo Naranjo,
Producers Pablo Cruz, Gerardo Naranjo, Hunter Gray, Alain de la Mata, Mexico