November 3, 2017
by Riza Camille Talan

[1] Bernardo Bernardo as Sims on The Nether, [2] Bernardo at the LAPIFF, [3] TOMAS anniversary issue for drama.

MINT College’s Theater Arts program head, Bernardo Bernardo has been nominated for Best Actor in a Non-Musical at the Aliw Awards 2017. He was nominated for his role as Sims in The Nether, a sci-fi thriller produced by Red Turnip Theater.

In a Facebook post, Bernardo shared this announcement, calling the nomination as a “development in his journey in the Performing Arts.” In the same post, he dedicated the Aliw Awards nomination to MINT College, along with two recent awards from the Los Angeles Philippine International Film Festival (LAPIFF): Best Picture and Best Screenplay for Imbisibol, in which he headlines as one of the lead actors.

He also shared that his work, Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio, a Filipino translation of Lonnie Carter’s The Romance of Magno Rubio, will also be included in the TOMAS anniversary issue for drama, which is published by the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies. The issue’s introduction proclaims Bernardo’s work as “the biggest coup in this collection.”

The nomination, awards, and publication of his work add to a long list of achievements of the multi-awarded 72-year old actor. Bernardo has received countless awards for his work in TV, film, and theater. Among these are Urian Awards: Best Actor for his role as Manay in the 1980 film, Manila by Night, described as one of Ishmael Bernal’s defining works, and Best Supporting Actor for his role in Imbisibol.

Currently, aside from acting, Bernardo enjoys teaching and heading the Theater Arts department of MINT College. In recent years, he has also put up Studio Connections International, which aims to “form alliances among performing arts companies in order to raise professional and artistic benchmarks in educational Philippine Theater.”