Benjamin Alves believes Lovi Poe brings blessings

Benjamin Alves

More than a year in showbiz, 26-year-old actor Benjamin Alves, formerly known as Vince Saldana, may have found a lucky charm in Lovi Poe, his female lead in Regal Films’ horror flick “Guni-Guni” and the indie film “Sana Dati.” For him, good things happen to him every time he works with Lovi.

Benjamin felt “intimidated” working with Lovi before “Guni-Guni” which he only overcame in “Sana Dati.”

“Masarap na katrabaho si Lovi and sana di ito yung last namin to work together. Lagi kasi siyang landmark sa career ko,” he shared.

Lovi, added Benjamin, was there in his first movie after coming back from Guam where he graduated from college.

“Ngayon ‘Sana Dati’ did well too. Pag kasama ko siya laging maganda ang mga nangyayari,” he expressed.

“Sana Dati’s” success in the recently concluded Cinemalaya 2013 led to its theatrical release in Metro Manila starting today. But even before its mainstream release, Benjamin said that they’ve had advanced screenings in some universities.

“This was such a blessing kasi I had to audition for my role. Maganda po yung role, bilang tatlo po kaming lalaki sa buhay ni Lovi, maganda po ang pagkakalay-out ng story ni direk Jerrold Tarog so lahat po nabibigyan ng story. Lahat po may bigat yung relationships namin with Lovi at sa isa’t-isa so affected po yun. Wala pong napag-iiwanan. Cinemalaya was in August pero September na pero nandun pa yung clamor,” said Benjamin.

The indie film “Sana Dati” earned a lot of awards in the Directors Showcase of Cinemalaya 2013. Tarog was named Best Director and the movie won Best Picture. TJ Trinidad also bagged the Best Supporting Actor plum. Other awards they earned were for Best Sound (Roger TJ Ladro), Best Original Music Score (Jerrold Tarog), Best Editing (Pats Ranyo), Best Production Design (Ericson Navarro) and Best Cinematography (Mackie Galvez).

Also in the cast are Paulo Avelino and Ria Garcia.

Does he feel bad not winning an award?

“No. TJ was deserving. The film’s success is for everyone, as a team. The success of an individual is like a collaborative success kasi intimate ang indie. Basta marami kaming nahakot na awards blessings yun. It also brought this film to a wider audience,” he replied.

Next for Benjamin is another indie-film for Cinema One Originals titled “Islands” and a soap opera from GMA-7. He is on “Katipunan” for GMA News TV which will air in October. It stars Sid Lucero as Andres Bonifacio while Benjamin plays the hero’s protegee. Also on “Katipunan” are Dominic Rocco, Glaiza de Castro, Roi Vinzon and Luis Alandy.

Benjamin Alves believes Lovi Poe brings blessings

Source: Mb.com.ph (September 25, 2013 at 10:06AM)

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