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EXCLUSIVE: Dionne Monsanto does Cebuanos proud in the first Sinag Maynila Film Festival

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Rhea Manila Santos

<div><img src="" alt="032115-dionne_main.jpg" width="400" height="290" align="left" border="0"/>As part of the newest local film festival<i> Sinag Maynila</i>, Dionne Monsanto&#x27;s movie Swap is part of five stories showcased and handpicked by interrnationally acclaimed film director Brilliante Mendoza and Solar Entertainment CEO Wilson Tieng. “I did Swap with Mon Confiado and I play a mom and it&#x27;s all in Cebuano. It&#x27;s a drama with a conspiracy theme. We speak very few Tagalog here because I&#x27;m Cebuana. We finished shooting in February. I auditioned for it yes but there&#x27;s not a lot of Cebuano actors who are here in Manila. There&#x27;s not a lot of actors my age who can do mom roles. The director Remton Zuasola is Cebuano also. We shot in Cebu. Initially when I auditioned for it I didn&#x27;t know it was going to be part of Sinag Maynila film festival but when I found out before we shot I got super excited because it&#x27;s going to be the first ever Sinag Maynila, ‘di ba?” she told Push.com.ph.</div><div><br/></div><div>The former Pinoy Big Brother Season 2 housemate admitted she has gotten used to playing the role of a parent (she is also currently part of the cast of Flor De Liza, playing the role of Desiree Del Valle&#x27;s sister-in-law). “Oddly enough I&#x27;ve been doing mom roles for the past two years now. Pero it&#x27;s kind of a struggle. It’s an effort to play a mom when you don&#x27;t know what it&#x27;s like to have a child of your own<i>. Pero yung hugot ko </i>would have to be from another painful experience because there&#x27;s a lot of crying here,” she explained.</div><div><br/></div><div>After almost eight years since joining the popular<i> Kapamilya</i> reality show, Dionne said she has already changed and matured a lot as an actress. “Because you meet so many people and you go through so many experiences and you use those experience with different people you meet into your acting. So if you got hurt or someone made you happy or you’re in love,<i> ganun</i>,” she said. Among her former housemates, she said she has remained close with just a few. “I&#x27;m in touch with two of my<i> PBB</i> batchmates, Bea Saw and Jasmin Kian. Our batch is not so active anymore,” she added.</div><div><br/></div><div>Dionne said that she is also happy with having a quiet love life. The pretty morena used to be linked to Baron Geisler a year after she left the PBB house in 2008. “I&#x27;m in a relationship with a radio deejay and he&#x27;s basically a music guy. He&#x27;s a composer and a producer. His name is Jimmy Muna. We&#x27;ve been together for more than two years now,” she admitted.</div><div><br/></div><div>Watch Dionne Monsanto in Swap at the Sinag Maynila film festival at SM Malls until March 24. The other films featured in the festival include Balut Country by Paul Sta. Ana, Bambanti by Zig Dulay, Imbisibol by Lawrence Fajardo, and Ninja Party by Jim Libiran. The awards night will be held at the SM Aura Premier on March 21. Members of the 2015 Sinag Maynila jurors include national artists F. Sionil Jose and Bienvenido Lumbera, screenwriter/director Armando Lao, film producer John Badalu, poducer/film critic Paolo Bertolin, and art critic/film educator Tito Valiente.</div><div><br/></div><div>The festival will run from March 18 to 24, 2015 at SM Cinema Megamall, SM Cinema North EDSA, SM Cinema Manila, SM Cinema Fairview, SM Cinema Southmall, SM Cinema Mall of Asia, and SM Cinema Aura Premier.</div><div><br/></div><div><i>Photo credit to dionnemonsanto IG</i></div>

Dionne Monsanto in ‘Swap’ shares the plight of parents who go through the trauma of losing their child.