The only rose among the thorns in their directors is Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo (the sister of Kathryn and Bernardo, joke!), certified blockbuster director of “Kita-Kita” and such award-winning films as “Huling Cha Cha ni Anita” and "Lorna". She’s now directing “Mr. & Mrs. Cruz” for Viva Films starring Ryza Cenon and JC Santos. We ask her if she got a bonus for “Kita Kita”? “Yes, meron naman,” she says. “Pero huwag nyo na itanong kung magkano ang natanggap ko.”
Which does she prefer now: winning awards or having a blockbuster movie? “Noong kumita ang ‘Kita Kita’ ng P2 million on its first day, napaiyak na ako sa tuwa. Kasi my first two films, hindi naman kumita ng ganon. Then, dahil sa word of mouth endorsements and sa social media, tumaas nang tumaas pa lalo ang kita. Hanggang umabot na nga ng P300 million Pagpunta ko sa sinehan, punong-puno, at ang sarap ng feeling na makitang yung movie mo, pinapanood ng napakaraming tao. Siguro, mas gugustuhin ko yung awards kung may kasamang cash prize. Kasi otherwise, ano yun, paperweight lang."
Why did she choose Perci and Jun to manage her? “I like them kasi they’re directors like me. I need people who’d represent me na comfortable ako lalo na ngayong pumasok na ako sa mainstream. First meeting pa lang namin, good vibes na agad kami, e.”
Aside from Sigrid, IdeaFirst also have Prime Cruz, whose past two indie films, “Sleepless” with Glaiza de Castro and “Manananggal sa Unit 23B” with Ryza Cenon (now showing in theaters as part of Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino) have both won awards. He also did the mainstream cinema romcom “Can We Still Be Friends” for Star Cinema and is now about to wrap up work for the youth-oriented horror flick, “Debutantes”, for Regal starring Sue Ramirez, Chanel Morales, Michelle Vito and other young actors.
Miko Livelo is better known for the comedies he did, like “Tanods”, “Blue Bustamante” and “I Love You to Death”. He’s now doing two new movies for Regal, “Tokwa’t Bad Boy” and “Forever Young”. Ivan Andrew Payawal has done two indie films, “The Comeback” for Cinema One with Kaye Abad and “I America” for Cinemalaya with Bela Padilla. He’s now doing “Ang Pambansang Third Wheel” for Viva starring Yassi Pressman and Sam Milby. Dominic Lim started as a scriptwriter (“The Rebound Girl” for Regal) and is now doing “The Write Moment” about a broken hearted writer starring Jerald Napoles and Valeen Montenegro for QCinema Filmfest in October.“Moviegoers today look for good stories and good storytellers are now stars in their own right,” says Perci, who’s currently directing “My Fairy Tale Love Story” for Regal starring Janella Salvador and Elmo Magalona. “We think this started with writers-directors like Dan Villegas and Antoinette Jadaone whose films now have their own following. If you have a good story plus a good cast, you have a winning formula, like what happened to Sigrid’s ‘Kita-Kita’.”
Most of their new directors were recruited from Jun’s free scriptwriting workshop, Cine Panulat. “We invited the talented writers we discovered in the workshop to join our company, first as brainstormers, then as writers, assistant directors until they became full fledged filmmakers who direct and produce their own films, some of which have been invited for exhibition in film festivals here and abroad,” says Jun. “The key to forever renewing the film industry is to discover new talents with fresh ideas that will appeal to today’s generation of viewers. We are proud of our group’s young batch of filmmakers who can represent not only our company but this new era in Philippine entertainment.”
Jun is now directing two movies. First is the comedy “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes”, a co-production with Quantum Films and Star Cinema, and the other is the horror flick, “The Nurse”, a co-production with Viva Films. “Dalawang Mrs. Reyes” stars Judy Ann Santos and Angelica Panganiban with Joross Gamboa and JC De Vera as their respective husbands. “The Nurse” stars Lorna Tolentino and Nadine Lustre.
