MANILA, Philippines?Actress Gina Pareño made a dramatic entrance at the 3rd Asian Film Awards?the region?s answer to the Oscars?held on Monday night at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

According to two members of the Philippine delegation, when Pareño?s name was called as Best Supporting Actress winner for her work in ?Serbis,? she was nowhere to be found.

?Serbis? director Dante Mendoza, a nominee for Best Director, went up the stage to accept Pareño?s trophy, scriptwriter Senedy Que recalled in an e-mail to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. As Dante began to speak, Que wrote, Gina was suddenly sighted running toward the stage.

?I?m sorry, I was in the ladies room,? were the actress? first words, delivered breathlessly, from the podium, Jazel Virtusio of the Animation Council of the Philippines said in a text message.

Disarmed, the audience laughed, and then applauded, both Virtusio and Que related.

?Gina explained that the restroom was very far from the hall,? Virtusio said. ?And then she proceeded to deliver what would be the night?s longest acceptance speech, sharing her victory with costar Jaclyn Jose, who was also nominated.?

?Serbis? tells the story of a family who operates and lives in a run-down movie house where prostitutes ply their trade.

Back to work

The next day, Pareño had only one thing on her mind?flying back to Manila so she could return to work on the ABS-CBN soap, ?Tayong Dalawa.?

She had only that one free day to attend Monday?s event, she told the Inquirer. In fact, she said, she almost skipped the ceremony.

?My daughter Raquel (Tajonera) and I received our plane tickets only on Saturday, two days before the flight.?

All that rush nearly made Pareño back out, but Mendoza prevailed on her to attend.

?She was a [favorite] in her category and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (event organizers) wanted to be sure she would come,? the filmmaker said.

36 films from 11 countries

This year, 36 films from 11 Asian countries vied for the 13 awards given at the end of the HK fest.

Japan dominated the roster of winners, with ?Tokyo Sonata,? by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to the late great Akira Kurosawa), winning Best Picture, and Hirozaku Koreeda being named Best Director for ?Still Walking.? Both were described as ?family drama.?

A third Japanese movie, ?Departures??which won the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film trophy last month?clinched the Best Actor award for lead star Masahiro Motoko.

Pareño and Jose competed with Japan?s Aoi Yu for ?Sex is No Laughing Matter? and Kiki Kirin for ?Still Walking;? and South Korea?s Kim Ji-Young for ?Forever the Moment.?

Aside from the winner Koreeda, Mendoza was up against such big names as Hollywood?s John Woo?director of the 2000 Tom Cruise starrer ?MI2??for ?Red Cliff? and Japan?s Miyazaki Hayao for ?Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.?

Best Supporting Actor was South Korea?s Jung Woo-Sung, for ?The Good, the Bad, the Weird;? Best Actress, China?s Zhou Xun, for ?The Equation of Love and Death;? and Best Newcomer, China?s Yu Shao-qun, for ?Forever Enthralled.?

Not her first

This is the second international recognition for Pareño?s performance in ?Serbis.?

She was named Best Actress last year at the 6th Pacific Meridian Film Festival in Vladivostok, Russia, where Mendoza won Best Director. The movie itself was the country?s entry in the main competition section of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Prior to ?Serbis,? Pareño won Best Actress trophies for Jeffrey Jeturian?s 2006 film ?Kubrador? at the Osian?s-Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in New Delhi, the International Festival of Independent Film in Brussels and the Amiens International Film Fest in France. With a report from Associated Press