“One of the best of her career” Alessandra de Rossi shines in the international film Watch List

Alessandra de Rossi is one of the few Filipino actresses who is also a true international artist. Apart from her amazing body of work in Philippine television and cinema, Alex—as she is fondly called—has several films that have made waves abroad; these include Azucena, Mga Munting Tinig, Homecoming, The Maid, Pinoy Sunday — to name a few.

Alex can proudly add the drama-action Watch List to the said list. After making the rounds of international film festivals in the US, France and India, Filipino audiences can finally see Watch List when it opens in theaters nationwide on February 19. Here, she plays a woman named Maria whose husband was killed. To keep herself and her three children out of danger, she joins a vigilante group whom she believes would protect her family.

Watch List is definitely of international caliber. At the helm of the production is Hollywood-based director-writer Ben Rekhi who had only Alex in mind for the title role. He says, “I knew it was going to be difficult to find the right actress to play Maria. It’s an incredibly emotional role, if she was not performed with raw humanity, the entire film would fall apart. When I saw Alessandra’s work, I knew she was the only one who could play Maria.”

Upon reading the script, Alex became interested. “Mabigat ang tema. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, ‘Kaya ko ito. Forte ko ito.’” The actress and the director (who co-wrote the screenplay with Rona Lean Sales) then talked about the role of Maria extensively.

“Binigyan niya ako ng chance na mag-comment,” Alex says of Ben whom she describes as open and collaborative. After further discussions Alex finally said “yes” to the offer.

“I couldn’t have been more fortunate,” reveals the Indian-American filmmaker. “I’ve worked with a lot of actors over the years. In Hollywood, in Bollywood, even some Academy Award winners, and Alessandra’s talent is something I’ve never seen before. I think fans of hers are going to be blown away at her performance in the film. It’s one of the best of her career,” Ben emphasizes.

Co-starring with Alessandra in Watch List are equally celebrated performers Art Acuña, Jake Macapagal, Lou Veloso, Jess Mendoza, and Angeli Bayani with Micko Laurente and Timothy Mabalot.

Watch List is distributed by Reality Entertainment. For updates, visit the Reality Entertainment Facebook page.