Loisa Andalio, John Arcilla billiards film gets Ice Seguerra, Liza Diño backing

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Loisa Andalio and John Arcilla in "Bilyarista"

Leesan Productions, Leeds Street Productions

MANILA, Philippines — Entertainment company Fire and Ice Media has boarded "Bilyarista," the film by Philippine-based Italian-American director Phil Giordano starring Loisa Andalio and John Arcilla.

The company, founded and owned by celebrity couple Ice Seguerra and Liza Diño, will handle the movie's international sales rights.

"Bilyarista" stars Andalio as a young billiards player aspiring to become a world champion, only for her hustler uncle, played by Arcilla, to drag her into the dark world of gambling.

In a statement sent to Deadline, Fire and Ice said it wanted to position the film as "a commercially legible sports drama" with strong crossover potential.

Sports drama with local roots

"[The movie is] a female underdog story set in the Philippines' storied billiards culture, a world that has produced some of the sport's most celebrated global champions, with the emotional architecture of a survival thriller," the company said of its new acquisition.

Fire and Ice is eyeing "Bilyarista" for distributors and platform programmers looking for Asian titles with a distinctive local identity and accessible genre appeal.

"'Bilyarista' has the combination buyers are looking for — a star on the rise, a world-class supporting actor, and a setting that is completely specific but immediately understood," Diño said.

She cited the Philippines' international legacy in billiards, with legends including Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante, who both appear in the movie.

"This film lives inside that world and uses it to tell a story about talent, exploitation, and what it costs to be discovered by the wrong people. That travels," Diño added.

Arcilla previously worked with Giordano on the latter's short film "Supot" a decade ago, which centered on the ritual of circumcision.

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