AZI Acosta surprised the press people who attended the special screening of her new movie, “Call Me Alma”, at Viva Cafe. Before the showing of the film started, she first gave a song number on stage and she has a pleasant cool voice suited for mellow songs.

A newshen asked: “Lip synch ba yan?” But obviously it’s not, as Azi alternately sings and talks to her audience, with refreshing confidence. She has proven her competence in front of the camera in her past films like “Suki”, “Pamasahe” and “Sex Games”. She does it again in “Call Me Alma” where she plays the title role no less. It will start streaming on Vivamax this Friday, September 1.

As Alma, she’s a young prostitute in a high end club who has no qualms about selling her body as it’s her choice to be one. She introduces herself simply to the camera as: “Ako si Alma, puta (whore).”

She narrates the movie herself and tells us about her regular clients. She’s happy with them and she doesn’t mind even if a sadistic lawyer punches her and hurts her as long as he pays her well.

She gives freebie sex to a jobless student and each time he tells her “I love you”, all she’d say is ‘Okay lang’.”

Her life gets ruffled when a woman, Shiela (Jaclyn Jose), introduces herself as her mother. At first, she tries to ward her off but her heart melts when Shiela is diagnosed to have early onset dementia. She agrees to Shiela’s request to accompany her to Bataan to search for her long lost father named Badong.

Alma learns that Shiela was raped by her mother’s paramour as a teenager and is later pushed into prostitution. When she got pregnant, she chose to give away her baby as she knows she cannot give her a good future.

Shiela asks Alma if her foster parents were good to her but Alma doesn’t answer. She later reveals that she ran away from home at 13. How Shiela is able to track her down is not mentioned.

The movie’s highlights are the dramatic scenes between Azi and Jaclyn. Jaclyn shines in many scenes but, in all fairness to Azi, she didn’t allow Jaclyn to eat her alive. So how did she find working with the Cannes Filmfest best actress?

“It’s a dream come true for me kasi hindi pa man ako pumapasok sa showbiz, I really admire her effortless kind of acting,” says Azi. “Noong una, I was intimidated kasi nga, sa high stature niya sa industry, but it turned out, ang bait niya. She’s very supportive and I learned so much from her.”

The film’s director, Mac Alejandre, says she was obviously star struck with Jaclyn. “Kasi nung first scene na kinunan sila, hindi siya kumikibo,” adds Direk Mac. “Nakatingin lang siya kay Jaclyn.

Pinapanood niya. But after two days, nawala na yung pagka-starstruck niya at nakipagsabayan na siya sa actingan.”

“That’s true,” says Azi. “Kasi nakaka-mesmerize naman po siyang kaeksena. Sa rehearsal kasi, normal lang ang acting niya. Pero sa actual take, doon niya ibinibigay ang lahat kay mamamangha ka talaga.”

Direk Mac wisely makes use of Azi in helping forward the narrative. After each crucial sequence, he inserts a close up shot of Azi showing her reaction to the scene that just transpired and this showcases Alma’s varied and nuances responses to different situations or characters,

We’re sure the guardians of our morality will be scandalized by Alma and her no qualms acceptance of her fate as a prostitute. The movie doesn’t show her being redeemed or changing for the better. Life just goes on for her as Alma, who is contented to be a whore who has no illusions that life will get any better for her.

Since she’s the current Vivamax Queen, has any boylet tried to woo her? “Meron po. Nakikipagkilala. Nanghihingi ng number ko. Actually, hindi ako interesado kasi, ang tingin ko, parang akala nila, madali nilang akong makukuha. May isang nanligaw talaga, pero tumigil na kasi hindi ko pinapansin. Takot kaya ako, mukha siyang chickboy. Saka at this point na sobrang busy ako at sunud-sunod ang projects, mas mabuti na ‘yung wala akong pinagkaabalahan kundi ang career ko. Sayang ang magagandang projects na bigay sa akin ng Viva.”