During a recent visit to the Queen City of the South, I had the privilege of being interviewed by raconteur Boy Abunda together with the man behind the success story of Bigfoot Entertainment, Michael "Mick" Gleissner. (Mick fell in love with the Philippines when he was stranded here after the 9/11 attack.) At the poolside of the posh Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa, we had our private conversations with Boy regarding the film industry. It was exhilarating to listen and learn from the extremely talented and creative entrepreneur Mick Gleissner who cashed in on his Amazon.com shares to pursue his passions in life – film, television, music and fashion.
"Movie making is about telling stories. It’s about cultures, lifestyles. The beauty of it is that with movie you can merge the cultures of the East and West to have the best of both worlds," Mick told us during the interview.
I told Boy and Mick – in my capacity as chairman of the International Film Festival Commission (IFFCOM) – that in Thailand, last year, they only made 29 domestic movies, whereas in the Philippines, we made 85 local movies. Thailand, however, in the last five years accommodated 500 foreign shoots for TV commercials and films on location shoots. From these foreign shoots, the Thai government generated revenue of $1 billion.
We at the Film Development Council of the Philippines totally support the promotion of international collaboration to set up a Philippine one-stop-shop to provide all pertinent information on location shootings among others and to create a friendly investment environment for local and international film producers. To find new markets, we will join international film festivals to sell Filipino films abroad. Currently, preparations are ongoing for the Busan Film Festival in Korea this October.
Mick Gleissner’s pride and joy, which is under its parent company Bigfoot Entertainment, is the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) that offers professional training programs to create the future filmmakers of tomorrow. Located on Mactan Island, this tropical beachside campus houses a state-of-the-art facility for filming and post-production was built at a whopping P300 million. IAFT extends a comprehensive, hands-on approach to making films and videos using the latest in equipment and technology under the directions of leading Hollywood filmmakers serving as faculty mentors. Courses are designed for aspiring filmmakers as well as industry professionals looking to advance their skill sets continuing the traditions of Hollywood and other film capitals of the world. Bigfoot Productions has produced innovative television programs with diverse content, such as USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay, Nautical Angels, and Diving Asia: Cebu.
USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay is a documentary revisiting the tragedy of an American battleship that was torpedoed during World War II. The show documented the record-breaking 193-meter dive by Robert Lalumiere to place a memorial plaque on the shipwreck. It is in post-production and will be completed by summer 2006. Nautical Angels is a travel show which takes the audience to exotic locations the world over, while Diving Asia: Cebu showcases the finest dive spots in the Philippines’ Queen City of the South. Bigfoot’s third feature, Cockfight, will commence production this year. Another ongoing project is a film entitled Irreversi, a powerful drama about an overnight millionaire who plots the perfect murder of his beautiful wife. Irreversi takes an unusual approach – filming in both English and Mandarin. This feature film will have two versions made simultaneously with two sets of separate casts.
Bigfoot has also recently combined forces with UK’s Fashion TV, the only 24/7 cable and satellite TV network dedicated to fashion and beauty. Finally, in its drive to bring Hollywood to Asia, Bigfoot Entertainment finds an ally in ABC-5, as they co-host the Cebu leg of the inaugural season of Philippine Idol, a franchise of the popular TV series.
From the bright lights of the Bigfoot facilities, we sampled Cebu’s delectable seafood dishes cooked at salu-salo sutukil ("sutukil" coined from sinugba, tinola and kilawin) in Lapu-Lapu City. Fresh shellfish of all sizes and prize catches from the bountiful sea were prepared right before our very eyes.
Cebu is a province, an island, and a city. Shaped like a giant snake that evenly divides the Visayas in half, Cebu is also an economic phenomenon that challenges the notion that prosperity never reaches the underdeveloped hinterlands. The city’s historical and cultural worth makes it a major tourist destination while its location in the center of the archipelago also makes it the country’s shipping crossroads. The island offers fine beaches and scuba diving sites.
The crown jewel of the province is Mactan Island’s luxurious Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa where, according to Boy, Egyptian cotton linen, goose down pillows and duvets surpass those of the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. Hilton Cebu proprietor Manny Osmeña and his lovely wife Gina graciously toured us around the latest addition to their tropical haven, the Resort Club.
The Resort Club is an exclusive members-only beach resort and country club one can visit anytime of the year. Its ultimate privilege is the seven one-night certificates of complimentary spa suite accommodations at the club’s five-star serviced apartments every year for as long as he owns the share. Each one-night certificate of complimentary accommodations can be used at any time during the year by simply making a reservation just like booking a five-star hotel suite. Members are provided access to recreational, health and fitness facilities plus, and they can indulge in various gastronomic crusades with permanent discount privileges at the fine restaurants and cafés in this resort.
Impressively located at Punta Engano in Mactan Island, Cebu, and 10 minutes away from the Mactan International Airport, the resort club facilities will be part of a French Mediterranean-inspired master plan of a complex evoking the Côte d’Azur with its solarium lobby and live foliage designed by California-based architect Roberto Viggayan (responsible for prestigious projects such as the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Hyatt Regency in Hawaii and California) and the building design by Richeto Alcordo (architect of the Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Cebu City Convention Center and the Waterfront Mactan Hotel and Casino), blend perfectly with the rich and profuse stately landscaping design by internationally acclaimed Belt Collins of Hawaii, thus creating the perfect tropical paradise – Hilton Cebu Resort and Towers.
Back at the Hilton, we were once again treated to our favorite watering hole, Manny O’s wine and tapas, the hotel’s signature restaurant, where we enjoyed the Philippines’ most expensive and mouth-watering wagyu burger. Manny O’s location in the hotel premises makes it a conversation piece, too: it is perched on the sea at the tip of a marina, overlooking the aquamarine waters of the Hilutungan Channel. Since its opening, the restaurant has always had a long list of advanced reservations just to savor this popular burger. Dining at Hilton is never second best. The cuisine here is a fusion of all the best the world has to offer. Apart from Manny O’s, the Hilton Cebu is also known for the chic Seas, a restaurant serving the freshest catch from the sea – twisted and fused with Asian, Mediterranean and Western tang; the Vanilla Beach Café, the resort’s casual retro-colonial, all-day dining restaurant serving Filipino, regional and international cuisine; the pink and breezy Pink Lobby Bar and Sapphire Pool Bar that looks out to the resort’s infinity pool.
Truly, many things are a-brewing in Cebu. If Hollywood is in heaven, don’t fret. Bright and beautiful things are aplenty in Cebu as it, so to speak, enters Nirvana, a world of magnificent refuge from the everyday – a world of glittering splendor, modern facilities and luxurious elegance. Welcome, Cebuwood!