THESE are exciting times indeed for our producer-friends Nando Ortigas and Eddie Rocha as they embark on bigger, braver, brighter projects for the future.
We met Ortigas and Rocha during the early stages of production for the film Heneral Luna, now considered a history-making, game-changing venture that somehow altered the landscape of the local film industry. The two have formally joined forces with highly touted filmmaker-producer Jerrold Tarog, director of Heneral Luna, to launch TBA Studios in a happy and well-attended event held recently at the Marquee Tent of the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.
TBA, culled from the initials of their individual film outfits (Ortigas’s Tuko Film Productions, Rocah’s Butchi Boy Entertainment and Tarog’s Artikulo Uno Productions), is looming to be the next major player in this dog-eat-dog industry that has been monopolized by a powerful few for many years now.
We say this because of the lineup of films that were announced during the launch. One of the highly anticipated projects is the crime thriller Smaller and Smaller Circles, directed by Raya Martin, based on
the best-selling novel of FH Batacan that has a very huge following.
We caught the rough cut of this film at the 2017 Hong Kong FilmArt Expo a few months ago and we liked what we saw. A clear narrative, beautiful cinematography, fluid editing and outstanding performances by Nonie Buencamino, Sid Lucero, Jun-Jun Quintana, Bembol Roco and Carla Humphries. We hope this beautifully crafted film gets shown soon.
The producers also announced that cameras have started to roll for Tarog’s next historical project, Goyo, based on the life of local hero Gregorio del Pilar, featuring an all-star cast led by Paulo Avelino.
Tarog shared that the film adaptation of the popular graphic novel The Mythology Class, by artist/illustrator Arnold Arre, is now in the early development stage. Tarog’s work schedule appears to be full until the country selects its next president, as he is also slated to work on Quezon vs. Aguinaldo, the final installment in his historical trilogy.
And here’s another piece of good news: TBA Studios has entered into a strategic partnership with the country’s leading telecommunications company, Globe Telecom. Aside from coproducing future film projects, Globe is also going to provide marketing support for Mikhail Red’s Birdshot, an official entry to the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino, all-Filipino festival that opens on August 16.
TBA Studios resident executive JP Habac will call the shots for the comedy film Golden, written by the father-daughter tandem of Doy and Ida del Mundo.
Carlo Obispo’s 1-2-3, a family drama which opened last year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, and Sheron Dayoc’s Women of the Weeping River, which took home top prizes at the QCinema Film Festival and the 40th Gawad Urian, will also be scheduled for commercial release.
We learned that Laila Ulao, the Urian-nominated lead actress of Women of the Weeping River, was also signed by TBA Studios as a contract artist. So very soon, expect TBA Studios to also have its talent management arm.
“We want to make films Filipinos deserve,” said Rocha, who will wear the director’s hat for the thriller-drama An American Crucifixion.
Aside from its vision of producing quality films, the company plans to continue expanding its reach and scope by creating various distribution platforms that will promote and enrich the local movie industry. Not long ago, the company launched Cinetropa, a Filipino film streaming site created exclusively to give local films more exposure on a global scale; and Cinema ’76, a microcinema dedicated solely to playing only independent films.
Vincent Nebrida, TBA president and Cinema ’76 cofounder, announced the popular microcinema will have a new and bigger branch soon. Cinema ’76 will continue to hold a series of master classes and workshops to hone multifaceted skills in filmmaking.
We’re happy for the success of this young studio and we look forward to many more world-class undertakings in the future—movies that are truthful, beautiful and amazing. As Ortigas put his vision in one sentence, “We want to produce movies that Filipinos will remember.”