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ctress Cut Mini said she was over the moon when she found out she had been named Best Actress at the Brussels Film Festival.

The 36-year-old received an SMS from film director and producer Mira Lesmana informing her she had received the award for her role in Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warriors), where she plays a passionate teacher in a dilapidated school.

She happened to be dining with her pilates instructor when she heard the familiar sound of an SMS. “I immediately screamed and everyone looked at me,” she said.

Given she had never dreamed she would win an award in an overseas film festival, she said it was the one of the best days of her life.

“I didn’t expect this… I couldn’t speak when I first heard the news, I just cried,” she said on Tuesday.

“I mean… Who is this Cut Mini? I’m not as cool as actors from other countries. And I haven’t acted in many films,” she said.

She added she was very grateful for the praise she had received previously, after being crowned Best Actress last year at the Indonesian Movie Awards for the same role.

The adventure movie Laskar Pelangi is based on the best-selling Indonesian novel of the same title, written by Andrea Hirata. The novel recounts Hirata’s childhood through the story of an inspiring teacher and her 10 students in poverty-stricken Kampung Gantong in Belitong.

The Jakarta International Film Festival dubbed Laskar Pelangi — a big hit attracting 5 million viewers — “the highest grossing Indonesian box-office of all time”. Award-winning director Riri Riza released a sequel, Sang Pemimpi (The Dreamer), after directing Laskar Pelangi.

Cut Mini confessed it took her a while to prepare herself to play the role of Muslimah.

“I’m not an actor by training. I learn on the job. Therefore, I needed a lot of time to understand my character. Consequently, I refused other jobs and concentrated on reading.”

Cut Mini, the youngest of seven children, was born on Dec. 30, 1973. She started off as a teen cover girl and fashion model in TV commercials.

Her entertainment career rocketed when her portfolio drew the interest of video directors.

She made her feature film debut in Nia Dinata’s film Arisan (Savings Gathering), in which she played a woman who was divorced for not bearing children. Arisan was named Best Picture at the 2004 Indonesian Film Festival.

After taking a break from the silver screen — apparently due to a lack of interest in the roles she was offered, Cut Mini’s heart skipped a beat when she was invited to audition for the role of Muslimah.

“I dreamed after shooting Arisan that I would be in a Riri and Mira movie. When Riri invited me to work with him, I was so shocked, as I had never imagined it would actually be possible. I also had never thought I would ever [receive] an overseas award.”

Cut Mini added she was currently preparing for her next movie.

“It will be a comedy and I’ll be doing it with old friends.”