Chiu (center) with “Plan 75” actress Stefanie Arianne (third from left), producer Alemberg Ang (left) and TBA Studios teammates
“Quezon,” the biopic on the first Philippine president, Manuel L. Quezon, will be shot soon “to finish the trilogy, in order for us to achieve closure,” announced Daphne Chiu, president and chief operating officer of TBA Studios.
The film outfit produced the hit biopic “Heneral Luna,” which is based on the story of revolutionary general Antonio Luna, in 2015; as well as “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral,” on the life of Gregorio del Pilar, in 2018.
“I know everyone is waiting for ‘Quezon.’ We’re crossing our fingers. I decided to mention it during this interview to push us to finally do it. I’m putting it out there! I’m actually waiting for us to shoot that, too, so we can finally finish the trilogy. We all want closure,” Chiu told Inquirer Entertainment over dinner recently.
Since Daphne took over the reins at TBA in October last year, the company has acquired the rights to distribute critically acclaimed foreign films such as “Everything, Everywhere All at Once,” “Fanny: The Right to Rock,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Plan 75” and “Nocebo.”
TBA Studios will also bring to the country Singapore’s Academy Awards candidate “Ajoomma,” and the psychological drama “The Whale,” starring Brendan Fraser.
No. 1 goal
“I want the company to earn, so my team and I often sit down to discuss the ROI (return of investment) per film,” said Chiu when asked to share her vision for the company. “To make money is our No. 1 goal. Of course, we don’t just say ‘yes’ to projects because we want to make money—there are other factors—but that’s a major consideration of many producers.”
She continued: “Second, we want TBA to continue pioneering things in this industry. We’re pioneers in making nice historical dramas; we want to continue doing that. I know TBA will always be in everything that is cinema-related, whether it be content, foreign film exhibitions, or the cafe.”
TBA also owns the movie-themed dining spot called Cinema ’76 Cafe located in Quezon City.
Daphne Chiu (right) with “Triangle of Sadness” star Dolly de Leon
Chiu said another goal of TBA is “to still be here in the next 10 years. I want us to last until I finally have my own family,” she said. “In order to achieve this, we plan to collaborate with other producers. For the longest time, we’ve been solely funding ourselves. I don’t think this strategy will still work now. This is why a lot of us producers are determined to come together to come up with quality films.”
This is why Chiu said TBA has been accommodating a lot of story pitches. “I often say, ‘Tara, usap tayo! I will not tell you ‘no’ right away without hearing it’ because if the project is that good, we can probably work together and find funding for it somewhere else. After all, the main goal of everyone is to bring back the audience to the cinemas.”
Return to cinemas
Chiu, however, said TBA’s focus at the moment is to acquire rights to release foreign films locally. “They say this is a brave move since most people prefer streaming over watching on the big screen. Personally, I think it’s braver if we produce our own content, but as we look at the business side of it, we prefer to be careful,” she pointed out.
“However, we really couldn’t let go of our love for film, so this is how we found a way. We can still entice the Filipino audience to return to the cinemas, even though we didn’t make these films. We take pride in them because they have Filipino elements in some of them,” she said.
“Triangle of Sadness” features Dolly de Leon, who made history as the first Filipino to be nominated for best supporting actress at the Golden Globes. “Plan 75,” Japan’s entry to the Academy Awards, is topbilled by an actress of Filipino descent, Stefanie Arianne. “Nocebo” stars Cebuana actress Chai Fonacier.
Chiu said the title given to her in TBA merely “legitimized” the work she has been doing for the company for years. “I now have to carry the brand well. In the beginning, the stress got so intense that my blood pressure shot up. My doctor said, ‘There’s nothing to be stressed out about.’ After that, I chose to simply enjoy my trip to Los Angeles, where I attended the American Film Market [as a TBA executive for the first time]. Finally, there was acceptance. I grew up with TBA. I wasn’t full-time yet when we did ‘Heneral Luna.’ [In 2022], my bosses (TBA Studios chair Fernando Ortigas and TBA Studios CEO EA Rocha) asked me, ‘Do you want to work with us already?’ That time, I was finally ready,” she recalled.
Asked to share what’s plotted in the company’s timeline, Chiu said: “Right now, I can’t really say yet. We’re still feeling our way around very carefully. We first wanted to see what would happen at the recent Metro Manila Film Festival and to our next film releases. I’m also busy tending to our youngest baby, the cafe.” INQ