This has got to be one of the busiest and most memorable weeks in a month so far this year. It started out last Monday, the 8th, with the observance of the centenary of International Women?s Day, the highlight of the International Women?s Month of March.
On that same day (Sunday in the United States), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in its 82nd Academy Awards, honored with the coveted Oscars, outstanding achievers in specific categories in the motion picture industry.
Like most of you, I am sure, I watched the ceremonies held at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood covered live on TV and reported in print media the following day. How most significantly apt that the first-time winners in three important categories were women.
First, Kathryn Bigelow, director of the Iraq war drama, ?Hurt Locker,? topping it with her Best Picture Award for it, and becoming the first woman ever to earn that distinction, scooping a total of six Oscars for the movie (including for original screenplay, sound mixing, sound editing and film editing). ?Hurt Locker?, a low-budget movie, was up against the high-budget ?Avatar,? directed by her ex-husband, James Cameron. Seated behind Bigelow at the ceremony, he joined in a standing ovation for her! Bigelow is only the fourth woman ever to be nominated for the Best Director award by Academy voters. Backstage, she told reporters that she hoped she was only the first of many women directors later, to win an Oscar.
Another first-time woman awardee was Sandra Bullock as Best Actress for ?The Blind Side?. It wrapped up a wild year for Bullock who had some box office smashes, but also a flop, ?All About Steve?, which earned for her the worst-actress trophy at the annual Razzies (for ?raspberry?, any expression of displeasure or derision), an Oscar parody, just a night before! Once dubbed ?America?s Sweetheart? early in her career for romantic comedies, in ?The Blind Side,? she took the part of a real-life, strong-willed woman who takes a homeless boy off the streets and makes him into a football success. In accepting her award, she praised her fellow nominees, then thanked her mother for reminding her daughters that ?there?s no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation, that makes us better than anyone else.?
The other woman was Mo?nique, Supporting Actress awardee who played the heartless, abusive mother of an illiterate teen in the Harlem drama ?Precious?. She added her gratitude to the first black woman to win an Oscar, Hattie McDonald, Best Supporting Actress in 1939 in ?Gone With the Wind?. She also thanked Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, executive producers, who spread the word on ?Precious? after it won in last year?s Sundance Film Festival.
More on women, this time here in the Philippines, particularly in media, Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) chair Marixi Prieto was among nine women honored last Monday for inspiring achievements in their respective fields. Prieto was recognized for her print media advocacy and leadership as chair of PDI.
Still in media, ABS-CBN broadcaster Karen Davila, is one of three Filipinos who are now listed in the World Economic Forum roster of Young Global Leaders for 2010. As the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports, ?for 39-year-old Davila, the recognition represents a chance to gain a fresh, global perspective as she tackles issues that she feels are important to the country and to the world.? In the new programming schedule starting this month, she now hosts the TV news program ?Head Start? at 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. Davila says, ?I feel so humbled and privileged to have been chosen along with two other Filipinos as a Young Global Leader for 2010 because it means that one, our voice counts in the global arena, and two, we have a role to play in terms of really shaping policy when it comes to the issues of health, education, women and children.?
While here in Cebu, we are proud to be with the , with women in top positions: Publisher Eileen Mangubat and Editor in Chief Connie Fernandez; Lifestyle Editor Mimi Lijauco and Assistant Lifestyle Editor Maria Niza Mariñas.
Still on women, the Cebu Zonta Club I of which I am honored to be a member, has been in a number of activities this week, not just for women, but also for children. Last Monday, Zonta I celebrated with the anniversary of a project we are involved in, the Pink Center for women and children at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. On Tuesday, a seminar was conducted for responsible parenthood at the Ermita Day Care Center. Late yesterday afternoon through early evening, we attended the 23rd Annual Perlas Awards on the Valuable Filipino of the Philippines Foundation, Inc., of which some of us Zontians have already been previous recipients. Today, we are visiting our Adopt-a-School project, the Gothong Elementary School. And tomorrow, we wind up the week with our annual Lenten recollection. I leave after lunch to host the regular Women?s Kapihan on dyLA at 2 p.m. to 3 p. m. Details on all these next week.
Till then, as always may God continue to bless us all!
