Hollywood-Manila bridge: How to lure international productions to film in PH? 

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LOS ANGELES, USA – There’s an ongoing initiative by the Philippine government, together with the country’s film industry, to lure international productions and showcase Filipino talents and stories in film and television.

The program, called “Expanding the Bridge,” aims to offer competitive financial incentives, cash rebate of up to 25% under the Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP), and grants of up to P10 million (US $180,000) for international co-productions through the International Co-Production Fund (ICOF), the Department of Trade and Industry said. 

Film producer Jun Lope Juban Jr., one of the top go-to guys for international productions in the Philippines, said it’s a “very welcome development,” but added there are more ways to encourage foreign production to come to the Philippines.

“I guess funding is the issue. But it is a good start,” said Juban, citing the need to still “increase the incentives.”

“There are other incentives the government can come up with which are not necessarily financial in nature,” added Juban, who handled the local shoot of Hollywood films The Bourne Legacy, Platoon, and Born on the Fourth of July.

“Like streamlining the process of getting government permits or waiving of visa fees — these can help add to the attractiveness of the Philippines as a location site.”

The Philippine initiative was officially launched during the week of the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) in early March at the Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood, where it drew a select group of Hollywood producers, filmmakers, talents, and executives.

“With so many locations owned or controlled by the government, these can be catalogued and these locations offered free of charge not just to foreign productions but to local productions, too,” said Juban. 

Jun Juban Jr. (right) and his production manager, Roy Serrano, on a location scout for the reality TV show ‘Survivor’

The launch attracted Hollywood figures like Oscar-nominated producer Lawrence Bender and Crazy Rich Asians writer Kevin Kwan, who are planning to make a movie set in the Philippines. 

They met government officials spearheading the program, including First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque, and Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. 

Winston Emano, the Filipino-American founder of mano Y mano, a media strategy firm, who moderated the launch, said the initiative was “an expansion of the overall Hollywood-Manila Bridge concept and born out of previous discussions with mainstream advisors in Manila on how to proactively gain industry foothold.”

The initiative, he added, aims to create “a new pipeline involving mainstream productions in the Philippines.”

At ‘Expanding the Bridge’ launch in Los Angeles with (from left) moderator Winston Emano, First Lady Liza Marcos, DOT secretary Christina Frasco and DTI secretary Cristina Roque. Photo from DOT

Juban pointed out the many other plus points of filming in the Philippines.

“We have the pedigree of great films shot on location in the Philippines. We have a multitude of talent on and off screen. Communication is not an issue. In some Asian countries, interpreters are required,” said Juban, who also coordinated the Manila shoot of Thirteen Days and Brokedown Palace.

The executive producer of Philippine Film Studios, Inc. began as a production liaison assistant for his late brother, Dennis Juban, in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, perhaps the most prestigious Hollywood film shot in the Philippines.

“Filipinos are very easy to work with. Our work ethic is known worldwide, as you can see so many Filipinos being the employees of choice in many fields,” he said.

Filipino-American Francis dela Torre, who directed several episodes of creators Dean Devlin and Gary Rosen’s Almost Paradise, a series set in Cebu in 2020, shared his own experience of bringing a film production to the Philippines.  

“I believe both our local line producers for Seasons 1 and 2 applied for the incentives on our behalf, but Electric Entertainment never ‘felt’ the incentives because of the cap,” he said.

Director and producer Francis dela Torre (second from left) and actress Lisa Brenner on the set of ‘Almost Paradise’ in Cebu.

Dela Torre explained the cap that was set for foreign productions back then.  

“There is a limit to what the government offers for incentives to shoot. For example, in the state of Louisiana (in the US), they offer a 40% tax incentive on all productions spent in the state,” he said.

“So if a production spends $10 million in Louisiana, the state offers $4 million back in tax incentives. The justification is that the production would have spent $6 million in the state.”

Dela Torre said the Philippines, “caps the incentive at a certain percentage of up to $200,000 in local production spend.” 

“In Season 1, Almost Paradise spent upwards of $8 million in the local economy,” he said.

“However, Almost Paradise Productions, through the local line producer, could only expect a rebate of up to 20%, capped at $200,000. That is a fraction of other incentives around the world.”

“Ultimately, it did not make fiscal sense to bring the production back, especially since the equipment, crew, and location rates were higher than we expected and did not offset the lack of tax incentives. It was too expensive to shoot the show in the Philippines, compared to other locations around the world,” said Dela Torre.

‘Almost Paradise’ director and producer Francis dela Torre on a prison set in Cebu.

The cap, he pointed out, makes the process prohibitive for bigger budget films and TV shows. 

In Southeast Asia alone, foreign film productions prefer shooting in Thailand or Vietnam as the Philippines still lags behind when it comes to giving incentives for international projects.

“[Devlin] advised the government during our meetings in the Philippines — the cap has to be lifted in order to entice higher budget films and TV shows to shoot in the Philippines,” said Dela Torre

“Many uncapped tax incentives in Thailand, Europe, Eastern Europe, Mexico, and many others simply beat the prices in the Philippines when the producers factor in the rebate other countries give.”

Almost Paradise starred Christian Kane and tapped many Filipino actors, including Art Acuña, Dante Basco, Nonie Buencamino, Samantha Richelle, Mikey Bustos, and Zsa Zsa Padilla.

Dela Torre, also a producer of the crime drama series, said Devlin’s Electric Entertainment has stopped production in Cebu. There are also unconfirmed reports that Almost Paradise may move to Spain when it shoots Season 3.

“For Almost Paradise Productions, even though the show was a hit and Amazon wanted a third season, it simply did not make fiscal sense for us to shoot our Season 3 in the Philippines. We ran 100% over budget on our show in Season 2, and there were many inefficiencies that were too difficult to overcome,” shared Dela Torre.

“Amazon Studios and Electric Entertainment loved the locations and actors, but we couldn’t continue the show in the Philippines. Hopefully, one day we can return.” 

‘Almost Paradise’ director and producer Francis dela Torre with actors Max Collins and Dante Basco and some Filipino crew members.

Just like Juban, Dela Torre noted the Filipino talents as a strong selling point.

“The biggest advantage of the Philippines are the creative folks in the industry. Many actors and actresses are world-class,” he said.

“And based on the success of the show, the world wants to see more of the Filipino face and voice on screen. Many of the creative crew members are very talented.”

“Despite our show being technically an American production, it was very important to the creators of Almost Paradise, Dean Devlin and Gary Rosen, to hire as many local crew as we could,” Dela Torre added.

“Many key creative positions like episode directors, production designers, and cinematographers were local hires and are very talented.”

The filmmaker, who also has cinematographer credits, emphasized that the Philippines should make the most of its location sites. 

“The locations are beautiful. But many are inaccessible for filming in an efficient and streamlined schedule,” said Dela Torre 

“Logistics overall are a challenge. When Almost Paradise Productions and Electric Entertainment did comparative studies with the shows they produce in Europe, Eastern Europe, and even in some tax-incentivized states in the US, the cost/benefit was simply not competitive.”

“Naturally, we cannot comment on other productions who may have gotten better rates in the Philippines than we did.”

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ writer Kevin Kwan, (left) and Oscar-nominated producer Lawrence Bender – who both plan to make a film in the Philippines – grace the launch with the First Lady Liza Marcos.

Juban and Dela Torre, of course, remain hopeful that the “Expanding the Bridge” will help the Philippines become a more attractive choice for film productions. 

“I believe there are Filipino-led companies which are trying to fix and streamline costs. The country has to look at incentives for shooting in the Philippines beyond the beauty of the locations and people. At the end of the day, all producers will look at the bottom line and choose places to shoot based on that,” said Dela Torre.

“We think ABS-CBN, during our first season, came close but there probably needs to be more government support to handle foreign productions with more complicated needs.”

“More studies need to be done by the government agencies who want to support more foreign productions on how film economies around the globe have brought in millions in revenue for local economies that offer high tax incentives and more streamlined logistical systems,” he added.

Emano said that during “Expanding the Bridge” launch, there had been concrete discussions  to encourage major film and television projects to shoot in the Philippines while promoting local talent and content.

Among the event guests were Mark Lagrimas, a two-time Emmy Award winner who advised the governments of Panama and Colombia on film financing and infrastructure; and Roger Goff, a producer whose credits include the Oscar and Golden Globe winner Dallas Buyers Club and is partnering with Lagrimas on a historical epic set in the Philippines. 

Also on the guest list were Fil-Am Marie Jamora, a Directors Guild of America member; Theresa Kang-Lowe, the first Asian American woman to launch a management and production company with an exclusive multi-year producing deal with Apple TV+; Nina Yang Bongiovi, a BAFTA-nominated producer; Salvador Gatdula, co-founder and CEO of Justin Lin’s Perfect Storm Entertainment; and Todd Makurath, the executive producer of Oscar and Golden Globe winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

“For decades, Filipino actors and storylines, and locales have been featured on Hollywood big and small screens since the onset of global, filmed entertainment. And although enjoying success on occasion via singular films, Filipino films and storylines collectively have fallen off the radar screens,” said Emano.

“This initiative seeks to reestablish, firm up and modernize those old connections by incentivizing quality, Filipino-centric storylines with a view toward reaching more globalized audiences.” – Rappler.com