Viva Entertainment set to roll out its year-end aces
AROUND 40 years ago, Vic del Rosario made one of his best business decisions when he collaborated with then-Pasay City Mayor Pablo Cuneta, who was looking for a business partner to coproduce a film for his daughter Sharon, who was then a promising pop singer. The film, P.S. I love You became a blockbuster and catapulted Sharon Cuneta to stardom and elevated Del Rosario to mega-producer status.
Del Rosario named his movie production outfit Viva Films, and he has never stopped churning out movies, despite the many political and economic turmoils that the Philippines has faced, and the insurmountable personal challenges that his family and businesses have encountered over the last four decades.
This year has been a good one for many of the Viva Entertainment business interests, and it looks like the film arm’s year-ender offerings would bring more success to this family-owned enterprise.
Many are looking forward to the Philippine remake of the 2013 Korean blockbuster hit Miracle in Cell No. 7, a heart-tugging tale about a mentally challenged man wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, who built strong friendships with his cellmates who helped find ways to reunite him with his daughter.
The film of the same title is an entry to the upcoming annual Metro Manila Film Festival, and A-list actor Aga Muhlach heads the roster of stars who play key roles in the film, including Mon Confiado, Joel Torre, Soliman Cruz and Jojit Lorenzo. Child discovery Xia Vigor gets her biggest role to date in this movie directed by the well-loved box-office filmmaker Nuel Naval.
Vincent del Rosario, a schoolmate of ours in San Beda and who now holds the position of president and chief operating officer, helps his dad call the shots for Viva Entertainment. He shared that his family’s hopes are high for their festival entry this December. “We have been participating in the year-end festival for many years now, and we’ve had our share of hits and a few misses. But Miracle in Cell No. 7 excites us so much, and that’s why we are going all out in the marketing and promotions efforts to ensure that the film draws in the most number of audiences when it opens on Christmas Day.”
Viva recently collaborated with Indonesian companies to produce Cinta Itu Buta, a remake of the original Filipino movie Love is Blind, directed by
Rachmania Arunita, and starring Indonesian actors Shandy Aulia and Dodit Mulyanto. Vincent also added that they are actively licensing their library of films on streaming services like iFlix, Netflix, Apple, Amazon and HOOQ to make available the company’s local content to many territories globally.
Adan, a sexually-charged movie between two women, is also set for release soon. With new actors Cindy Miranda and Rhen Escaño, the film is written, photographed and directed by Roman SantillanPerez.
Then there is the Paul Soriano movie Mañanita, which got very good reviews at the Tokyo
International Film Festival recently. Written by local film auteur Lav Diaz and starring Bela Padilla as an ex-military officer on the path of revenge against the killers of her parents, it is set to have its theatrical release in early December.
“We will continue to produce films as long as there are good stories to tell, and brave, bold, brilliant filmmakers to tell these stories. I’m blessed to have my four children Vincent, Veronique, Valerie and VR running our companies, and the grandchildren are slowly blending into the business, creative and digital aspects of our ventures, as well,” enthused the 73-year-old mega producer Vic del Rosario. n