Star Powerhouse

 2014 Cinema One Originals Festival opening night lived up to its “intense” theme. The event was intense as hundreds flocked to Trinoma Cinema 7 to catch director Elwood Perez’s 51st feature film, “Esoterika: Maynila.” Written by Elwood Perez in collaboration with columnist Jessica Zafra, “Esoterika: Maynila” follows the story of Mario, a restaurant worker who transforms himself into a literary artist. The cast are Ronnie Liang, Boots Anson Roa, Vince Tañada, Carlos Celdran, Snooky Serna, Lance Raymundo, Jon Hall, and Cecile Guidote Alvarez. Perez says that his new film is inspired by his youth and personal experiences.

When it comes to Philippine drama series that cross borders, ABS-CBN Corporation has proven that it is the premier provider in Asia.  Out of the 30,000 hours of various content it has sold worldwide since 2000, ABS-CBN International Distribution has sold approximately 40% of these to eleven Asian countries, enabling non-Filipino, Asian viewers to enjoy top-calibre Filipino programs on their own television screens. Among these, Malaysia is the top buyer of ABS-CBN dramas with more than 3,000 hours of content sold to Malaysian TV networks Astro Bella and TV3 since 2000. “Magkaribal,” “Prinsesa ng Banyera,””Dahil May Isang Ikaw,” “Impostor,” “Imortal,” “Budoy,”and “Iisa Pa Lamang” were some of the titles sold to Astro Bella, Malaysia’s first in-house pay TV channel for telenovelas. These account for the 850 hours of content bought from ABS-CBN by this TV channel owned by the Malaysian satellite provider Astro. “Dahil May Isang Ikaw” is Astro Bella’s highest-rating Filipin...