The Philippines got another recognition from the prestigious Cannes Film Festival! Our very own Jaclyn Jose has just been named Best Actress on Sunday, May 22, for her portrayal of a mother forced to sell drugs to survive from the Philippine entry “Ma’Rosa” which is helmed by 2009 Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza.

During the press conference, the 52-year-old actress told the reporters that she had to forget everything she learned about acting in 30 years for her role in the one-of-a-kind film.

“The biggest challenge for me was not to act. Especially since I am coming from television shows where I play loud and campy characters,” she said about the different “attack” she made for her role in “Ma’Rosa.”

“I’m proud so proud of our film. We just don’t know how the people would react or will like our film but us, we know that we did our best and we know that we have a good film,” she added.

Aside from “Ma’Rosa,” the Philippines also got an entry in the Short Films category at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Raymund Gutierrez’s “Imago” was the sole entry from Asia in the festival’s Short Films competition.

The first time that the Philippines won at Cannes was in 2000 when Raymond Red’s short film “Anino” bagged the Palme d’Or Award for short films.

In 2009, Brillante Mendoza won Best Director for the Philippine entry “Kinatay.”