MANILA, Philippines — If it was possible, Dennis Trillo could have won the same Volpi Cup as John Arcilla.
Venice Film Festival jury member Chloe Zhao said the jury loved his performance that if it was possible to give a joint award they would have given him the same award.
"You are incredible. If we could give a joint award, we would give both of you. We are not allowed to," said Zhao in the video Dennis posted on his Instagram today.
Zhao referred to his performance as Roman Rubio, the contracted prisoner who sidelines as a gun-for-hire in the HBO Asia Original series "On the Job: The Missing 8."
Dennis and Globe Studios head Quark Henares was asking for a selfie with the "Eternals" director when Zhao gave her compliments to the actor.
"Ok lang yun rekdi. Bawi ako next time!" Dennis wrote on his caption of the video.
Henares shared that Zhao even "googled" Dennis because she thought he was a real prisoner. Zhao would find out that Dennis was actually a "matinee idol of some sort" in the Philippines.
John Arcilla made history as the first Filipino to have won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. Arcilla was cited for his performance as Sisoy Salas, a seasoned journalist/radio personality whose ethics will be put in the spotlight.
He was unable to attend the awarding ceremony but he gave a moving speech. Director Erik Matti accepted the award on his behalf.
Related: John Arcilla 1st Pinoy to win Best Actor at 78th Venice Film Festival for 'OTJ: The Missing 8'
Arcilla also sent his congratulations to Dennis in Philstar.com's exclusive interview with him for its online show "Slam Book." He thanked Dennis and the rest of the "OTJ" cast and crew for sharing the milestone with him.
Henares, who was part of the party who attended the screening awards ceremony at the recently concluded 78th Venice Film Festival in Italy, also wrote a series of tweets of their experiences at the renowned film festival.
The Globe Studios head shared how he, Dennis, Matti, and the rest of their team tried to hide their excitement when Bong Joon-ho asked them if he could sit with them on their table.
"During dinner, BJH dropped by and asked if he could sit with us for a bit. It took me, @ErikMatti, Dennis and team all our might not to squeal the whole time. He asked Erik questions about th (sic) soundtrack, th (sic) locs, the number of days, the budget (that means you are a good director) (rolling laughing face emoji)," wrote Henares.
The Oscar-winning director of "Parasite" was also gracious as he tried to keep the conversation focused on "OTJ" even if he was bombarded by the team with questions about his work.
"But every time we'd bring up his films or the other festival films, he'd politely answer and turn the topic back to On The Job. He seemed to really love the film. He left after a while to do Jury President duties but stopped by before leaving to give @ErikMatti a hug (heart emoji)," Henares shared.