Sylvia Sanchez
Actress Sylvia Sanchez flew to France this weekend wearing a totally different hat. She attended the Mipcom Cannes 2022 (or the 38th International Coproduction and Entertainment Content Market) as a producer aiming to sell the psychological thriller series “Cattleya Killer.”
Sanchez is one of the co-producers, under her Nathan Studios, of the series that features her son, Arjo Atayde. ABS-CBN Corp. is the main producer of the series directed by Dan Villegas.
“Cattleya Killer” follows the intriguing investigation of a slew of cryptic murders by a copycat of an infamous serial killer who terrorized Manila two decades ago. The son of the cop who cracked this legendary case becomes the prime suspect when past traumas and long-buried secrets are brought to light.
Mipcom Cannes ran from Oct. 17 to Oct. 20. The team, with Atayde in attendance, presented the pilot of the six-part series on Oct. 19 with the goal of securing a global distribution partner, according to a press statement quoting Ruel Bayani, ABS-CBN’s head for international production and co-production.
“All we know about Cannes is that every year people there organize a film festival that’s attended by everybody, including Hollywood stars. Cannes is not just about the film fest, it’s also a place where you can sell your film and TV projects, as well as buy foreign-produced ones that you would like to distribute in your country,” Sanchez told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview.
Nathan Studios also coproduced “Mrs. Piggy,” the drama series released in April featuring Sanchez in the lead, with Epic Media and ABS-CBN’s Dreamscape Entertainment.
Global content
Sanchez’s production company is named after the street where her family presently lives in a village in Quezon City. “My children suggested it because they said it was in that house where we became so blessed with our respective careers,” she explained.
“I don’t want to just be an actor all my life. When I was able to save enough, Arjo, Ria (her daughter) and I decided to put up the company. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that there are a lot of great actors out there and we only need to create projects that will enable them to showcase their talents,” Sanchez pointed out. “I want to be able to help bring them out, to make them known to more people. Also, now that we are able to show our content globally, I also hope to show that Pinoys are also as talented as other Asians.”
Sanchez said she has learned a lot from attending the latest edition of the Cannes film fest in May. She shared her observations: “[Former Film Development Council of the Philippines chair] Liza Dino suggested that I attend if I wanted to sell ‘Hey Joe,’ which was the first film that Arjo co-produced and is still unreleased. At that time, I wasn’t ready to sell it so I decided to join as an observer; and I was able to witness how some of our best producers did their pitches.”
Enormous effort
Sanchez continued: “We spoke with some distributors and I’ve learned that what they are really looking for are projects that are hardcore action, and also, horror flicks that are similar to the ‘Conjuring’ series. They said there is a demand for those kinds of content. I knew then why ‘Squid Game’ was so successful and why Direk Erik’s (Matti) ‘On the Job’ is getting good feedback.”
Sanchez also said that while she was roaming around Cannes’ film market, she couldn’t help but feel jealous after seeing the enormous effort and importance the French people have given to the event. “Nainggit ako! For sure the Koreans are also doing this for their films, and they have the full support of their government. I wish we can do something like this for the Filipino artists, too,” she declared.
Nathan Studios is also coproducing with Epic Media a film featuring Ria, with “X Factor” as a working title, Sanchez reported. They are also working on Arjo’s next action film, “Topak,” with Richard Somes at the helm.
“My friend Ginny Ocampo [of ABS-CBN’s GMO business unit] is helping me by teaching me the ropes. She trusted me by giving me the drama series ‘The Greatest Love’ [in 2016]. This started it all for me,” Sanchez began. “Ms Ginny said that, as a producer, the key is to admit that you are not knowledgeable enough and that you need the help of experts in specific fields. I’m not as adept as I should be, but I’ve learned a lot since I began producing my own content.”
When asked what kind of stories she is planning to produce, Sanchez said: “I’m not scouting for anything specific. If you propose something to me and I find it interesting enough, if I somehow managed to embrace the concept, then I’d do it. In fact, I never imagined I’d produce an action film, but when Direk Richard pitched his concept to me I felt intrigued because it was something very different. We recently started shooting ‘Topak.’”
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