Severino leads international collab projects from new production outfit creazion studios
MANILA, Philippines — A series about the first documented serial killer in the Philippines leads the roster of projects with international partners for CreaZion Studios, one of the newest players in the country’s film and TV production scene.
CreaZion Studios is founded by chairman Rex Tiri, president RJ Agustin and chief creative officer Real Florido, whose collective industry experiences include credits in producing, acting and directing award-winning content.
Rex Tiri founded the independent film company T-Rex Entertainment (Patay Na Si Hesus, Esoterika: Maynila, Bakwit Boys), while Agustin and Florido ran Firestarters Productions (Iska, Kabisera, 1st Ko Si 3rd, Bakit Di Mo Sabihin?). Their new joint media company is backed by the investment of RTH Holdings Singapore.
Set for international distribution, Severino: The First Serial Killer is described by CreaZion execs as a “groundbreaking milestone project” to be co-produced with partners from the US, Spain, South Korea and Mexico. It stars Dennis Trillo (On the Job: The Missing 8) in the title role.
Besides Severino, the company is also involved in Last Shadow At First Light, a collaboration with Singaporean director Nicole Midori, best-known for HBO’s Folklore, and produced by Cannes Camera d’Or Winner Jeremy Chua.
CreaZion Studios will also produce Japayuki Homecoming, an international co-production helmed by Florido, the award-winning director of 1st Ko Si 3rd and Bakit Di Mo Sabihin.
They have also acquired two horror movies from Indonesia and Vietnam. They earlier co-distributed the South Korean movie Childe in the country.
During a recent “lift-off” event that officially introduced the company, CreaZion Studios offered a glimpse of how they are banking on “strategic partnerships” with global production houses to work on and churn out stories with cross-border perspectives and appeal.
“To achieve our ambitious goals, we have devised a comprehensive strategy that revolves around collaboration, creativity and commercial viability. We understand that great content is born from the marriage of diverse perspectives and experiences,” said Agustin during the recent grand launch at Okada Manila.
Their three-pronged strategy consists of, firstly, to form international partnerships with focus on promoting Southeast Asia as an emerging hub of unique storytellers. “We pledge to be at the forefront of championing these stories, ensuring that they reach the international audience they rightfully deserve,” he said.
Their second strategic pillar is to bankroll projects with not only compelling and potentially critically acclaimed narratives, but also commercial value. While their third strategy is to invest in nurturing and developing Filipino talent.
Florido, on the other hand, said that creative collaboration is the way to go in the post-pandemic market. He particularly cited developments in the Philippine entertainment industry as indicators.
“The era of cutthroat competition in our local industry is waning, evident in the recent projects made together by the OGs, the giant networks ABS-CBN with GMA, ABS-CBN with TV5,” he said.
“The emergence of streaming services like Prime Video, Netflix and Viu also created opportunities for project collaboration at a higher scale. We all know that the landscape of content production today is so different compared to how it was before the pandemic. The Filipino TV and film industry has changed forever,” Florido added.
He believes that the real challenge for Filipino content producers and creators “lies beyond our borders.”
“The competition is out there, with bigger stakes, bigger budgets, bigger production scale and quality, bigger values, bigger returns,” the filmmaker said.
“We know that Filipino talents are world-class and this is something that we can harness to elevate our productions to a standard that can rival other countries. Our dream is to become Asia’s premier content producers, and we know that we have the capacity to achieve it if we are going to do it together.”
Besides international collaborations and co-productions, they are also releasing projects headlined by top stars and award-winning artists.
Among them is All About My Wife is the Filipino adaptation of the South Korean box-office hit starring Jennylyn Mercado and Sam Milby.
The Brown Ambition is expected to be the first of its kind co-production with Aktor PH (Actors Guild of the Philippines) featuring an all-star cast composed of respected members of the guild. The series is a brainchild of Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank director Marlon Rivera.
Let Me in Philippines, on the other hand, is the adaptation of the reality TV show about transforming financially challenged and socially excluded men and women through the help of plastic surgery.
Designed as more than a film studio, CreaZion Studios is positioning itself as a multimedia content producer, also venturing into music, digital publishing and artist management. It also launched the music label Zion Records, talent agency FAME Artist Management & Entertainment (Chai Fonacier, who recently starred with Eva Green and Mark Strong in the thriller Nocebo, has signed up with them); and the Gen Z-dedicated multi-platform magazine Zeen with Mark Ghosn as editor-in-chief.
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