Local film company TBA Studios is investing more than half a billion pesos over the next three to five years to produce and market original content for local and global viewers.
TBA Studios, owned by businessman Fernando Ortigas and Eduardo Rocha, is bullish about the local film industry and in bringing this to the global market.
Rocha said in the next three to five years, the company plans to invest P500 million in producing and marketing original content, its highest investment so far compared with its previous P300 million to P400 million spending.
The film studio has also opened its doors for both foreign and local collaborations.
“Now is definitely the opportune moment to make better films given that there are now more ways to generate revenues beyond traditional ticket sales. There is also the viability of selling the format and licensing content,” Rocha said.
Vincent Nebrida, TBA Studios president, said the company intends to produce quality and regional content for both local and global viewers.
“There is so much more opportunity for filmmakers today, even if many think the local film industry is struggling,” Nebrida said.
“In some sectors, insiders don’t seem too optimistic. However, if Philippine producers band together as a community, in terms of producing and marketing our films, well then there is so much more to be hopeful for,” he added.
He expects the movie industry to grow as the Philippine economy expands.
“At TBA Studios, we are committed to delivering the kind of high-quality films that will uplift and give the Filipinos the intelligent alternative. That is how highly we value the market. We also intend to produce original content for all these different platforms that are disrupting the industry. Instead of seeing digital advancement as a threat, we see it as a growth opportunity,” Nebrida said.
He pointed out at least three of the company’s top films — Heneral Luna, Birdshot and
Goyo — are currently available in the world’s most popular media services provider Netflix.
Nebrida, a 40-year veteran in the global film industry and a graduate of filmmaking at New York University, acknowledged that the market has radically changed from the days when he worked in the ‘90s as an executive director for marketing at Fine Line Features, a division of New Line Cinema in the United States.
The company’s biggest box office record holder to date, Heneral Luna, grossed more than P300 million and is said to have helped pave the way for President Rodrigo Duterte in winning the 2016 national election.
“From September of this year throughout 2020, the film industry is celebrating the 100th year of Philippine Cinema. We would like to continue with our commitment and our vision to keep making films that are relevant, worth watching and hopefully establish the kind of legacy that will be remembered a century from now,” Rocha said.
