Jeyrick Sigmaton, a.k.a Carrot Man, on Monday, November 29, admitted he was surprised to win as Best Actor in his first-ever short film, Dayas, during the 2021 International Film Festival Manhattan (IFFM) Autumn edition in New York.
“Actually nagulat din ako noong una eh. Hindi ko rin inaasahan na magkakaroon ako ng award na international pa,” said Sigmaton in the press conference.
The Igorot actor then admitted how overwhelmed he was when he heard the news, forgetting what he was doing before announcing winners.
“Naging masaya ako that time. Nakalimutan ko [nga] ginagawa ko that time nung binalita nila agad.”
Meanwhile, one of the film’s directors, Jianlin De Los Santos Floresca revealed that Sigmaton, despite lacking the experience, was able to do almost all of his scenes in one take.
“Everybody knows him like shy na parang hindi siya maka-ano sa tao. Pero ako, since nakita ko kung saan ko siya imo-motivate, palagi kaming take one lang,” says the director.
Floresca even compared Sigmaton to experienced artists, stressing that the latter really has the potential to become a great actor someday.
“Ang dami do’n na kasama niya na nakapag-aral, magaling sa arte. Pero siya talaga, kita ko talaga, kinwento ko sa kanya yung k’wento and then he’s in just one place memorizing his lines. ‘Pag siya na, ‘pag nakuha na niya yung k’wento, take one lang talaga siya. Kasi kapag nakuha ko na yung gusto ko, hindi ko na inuulit kasi papangit na eh.”
Produced by Be Unrivaled Production, Dayas is a short film that tells the story of small-scale gold miners in Itogon, Benguet.
