Antoinette Jadaone pens heartfelt message for Maris Racal after Gawad Urian win

Director Antoinette Jadaone took to social media to pen a heartfelt message for Maris Racal after the actress won her first Gawad Urian Best Actress award for her performance in Sunshine.

“MARIS HAS JUST WON HER FIRST URIAN!!!!!!!!!! OH WHAT A FEELING!!!!!” the director said.

Antoinette also reflected on how they had once dreamed of achieving the milestone, expressing how she had always believed in Maris’s talent.

“Pinapangarap lang natin ito dati tehhhhhhh!!! Pero hindi ako kailanman nagduda. SA’YO ITO,” she said.

In the video shared by the director, Maris could be seen becoming emotional as the prestigious award was being presented to her.

Following her win, Maris also took to social media to express her gratitude and excitement over the recognition.

“MAY URIAN NA AKO!!!! Maraming Salamat PAPA GOD!” Maris posted on her Instagram page.

Fans online were quick to react to the post.

“Congratulations, Maris & Direk 🥳,” one fan commented.

“Congrats, Maris! And thank you Direk Tonet for seeing Sunshine in her,” another fan wrote.

Sunshine “follows a young gymnast who discovers she is pregnant on the week of the national team tryouts,” as per its IMDb.

In February 2025, the film won the Crystal Bear for Best Film at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.

Maris previously revealed that she underwent a year of training to prepare for her role as a gymnast in the film.

“I really pushed my limits and trained for it. Even though it was hard, I pushed,” she relayed in a 2024 interview. “It was made through blood, sweat, and tears. We really worked hard. The script is from 2020. It made me very emotional because I trained for a year. I saw the movie, the trailer, and other things that were familiar to me. It’s a great story.”

In June, Maris also received the Best Lead Performance of 2025 award at the 6th Pinoy Rebyu Awards, presented by the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers, for her portrayal in Sunshine.

The actress is also set to reprise her role as Sunshine in the upcoming stage adaptation of the film.