ABS-CBN Films, the film production arm of Philippines’ major network, ABS-CBN Corporation teams up with Singapore company Cre8 Productions, in a move to leverage Philippine content to the world.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by Cre8 Executive Producer Chan Gin Kai and ABS-CBN Films representatives, Star Cinema managing director Olivia Lamasan and Star Cinema creative adviser Malou Santos, at the Singapore Pavilion in the Singapore Media Festival at Marina Bay Sands Singapore.
The deal includes collaboration for six films. One of which is horror film “Eerie”, which saw its world premiere on Monday at the Singapore International Film Festival, a constituent event of the Singapore Media Festival.
“Because it was an exciting collaboration, we decided we are going to do a lot more of this. We would like to announce our company Cre8 Productions and ABS-CBN Films are collaborating to do five more films,” Cre8 executive producer Chan Gin Kai said.
“This is only the first of 6 world collaborations and we’re really very excited. Yes we are opening ABS-CBN films and the Philippines to the world.”, Lamasan shared.
“As former head of ABS-CBN Films, I’m very, very lucky that in my last year I was able to do this collaboration with Cre8 Productions. This is really a wonderful experience working with them,” Santos said.
ABS-CBN Films and Cre8’s first fruit of collaboration, Eerie, is a suspense horror with one of Southeast Asia’s budding director, Mikhail Red. The story revolves around an all-girls Catholic high-school run by a nun, where a string of mysterious deaths spur the secretly clairvoyant guidance counsellor to investigate, against the nun’s wishes.
In photo: FDCP Liza Diño-Seguerra, Director Mikhail Red and Malou Santos of ABS-CBN Star Cinema
“I’m really glad the the Philippines and Singapore are now partnering up to create more genre films that are made not just for our local cinema, but for export. I hope this develops the audience locally and we get to elevate the genre of filmmaking in the Philippines.”, Red said.
In photo, Cre8 Productions executive producer Chan Gin Kai, Ursa Entertainment’s Susanne Richiardone, adobo magazine Editor-in-Chief Angel Guerrero, (who introduced Chan Gin Kai to Jessel Monteverde 4 years ago in Manila), and URSA’s Jessel Monteverde.
In another collaboration, Cre8 Productions signed a three-project deal with another Philippine company, Ursa Entertainment, led by Jessel Monteverde, the nephew of Regal Films matriarch Lily Monteverde.
“Our mandate is to basically to tell Asian stories, Asian-flavored stories worldwide.”, Monteverde said, adding that there is no shortage of talent in the Philippines.
The Philippines is the country of focus at this year’s Singapore Media Festival, represented by 80 delegates in its different constituent events.
“Now it is time to build up and strategize to go regional and international with our content, most especially when our stories are universal in nature and theme. And what better way to do this than here,” Liza Diño-Seguerra, chairperson and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, said.
“The goal is to secure more cooperation and partnerships to strengthen our industry as an economic driver locally and even regionally. Our films, TV and digital content and services are all ripe and ready to go out in the world and it is our responsibility to continue to create these opportunities and take advantage of platforms that offer such opportunities for business, network and trade.”, she added.
The deals were announced on the sidelines of the Asia TV Forum and Screen Singapore (ATF-SS). An annual feature of the Singapore Media Festival, the ATF-SS brings together film and TV companies from around the world for conferences, network and business collaboration.
Watch the announcement and MOU signing here:
