BisayaFlix expands offerings, gets beauty queen as endorser

CEBU, Philippines — As BisayaFlix beefs up its content offerings, the local streaming app will begin charging subscription plans at a monthly rate of ?99 and an annual rate of ?990 – available not only to users in the Philippines, but also worldwide.

“We have this subscription to pay back our creatives, actors, filmmakers, and producers,” said BisayaFlix Chief Technical Officer Jad Encarnacion during a recent press event at SM Seaside City.

Since its soft launch last year, the streamer has garnered 5,000 downloads across both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. To attract more subscribers, the streaming and production company has enlisted Miss Universe Philippines 2021 second runner-up Steffi Aberasturi-Arcenas as its endorser.

BisayaFlix aligns with the Cebuana beauty queen’s ongoing support for Bisaya-made products and initiatives – one of the key reasons the team tapped her as their ambassadress.

“She is a fellow Bisaya and has a large following,” explained Akiko Solon, Chief Financial Officer of BisayaFlix. “She is quite supportive of us, and it was the right time for us to have Steffi.”

Camacho revealed that Aberasturi was given the opportunity to be part of reality show Pinoy Big Brother, but that she didn’t accept because she prefers to be based in Cebu, “which is an advantage for us at BisayaFlix.”

He added that Aberasturi is also open to act in a BisayaFlix project.

“That was the first thing brought up during our photoshoots and contract signing if she will act. She is interested, but there’s no opportunity yet. She’ll probably have to go through workshops first,” he said.

Upcoming films

BisayaFlix’s next release is the comedy-actioner “Associate,” to be directed anew by Camacho, who will also star alongside Cebuano internet personality Al Moralde in a buddy-cop flick.

After directing the action-packed “Aset” and the comedy “Beauty and Bert” last year, Camacho is now blending both genres into a single film.

“It comes with its challenges because there are scenes where you have to balance the action and comedy. There’s a lot of action, and the comedy scenes come easier thanks to ‘Beauty and Bert,’” said Camacho.

Asked how they built their on-screen chemistry, Moralde credited the relaxed atmosphere on set. “I had a crush on Elcid before,” Moralde joked, before adding, “I can’t spoil much about the plot, but I was excited to work with Direk Elcid and it was a fun set.”

Another upcoming project is the horror-thriller “Ang Karaang Balay,” also directed by Camacho. It will mark Solon’s return to acting after giving birth, which she admits makes her a bit nervous to be back in front of the camera.

“The story is nice, but as an actor, it’s going to be challenging. So I need to internalize. But I’m excited because this is a horror film and I’m the one leading it. I’ll just take it slowly, so good luck to me,” said Solon.

Aiming for an April shooting schedule, the horror film marks another new territory for the experimental Camacho.

“I’ve done romantic drama, action, comedy, and a mix of both. I wanted to see where my limit is as a director, and this is Akiko’s dream role – our comeback movie together after she gave birth to our son,” he said.

More projects in development include a film centered on “Leon Kilat” and “Toro,” the latter being BisayaFlix’s first attempt at building a franchise through the “Alphaverse,” starring BisayaFlix COO Sean Red Fernan.

The streamer is also launching a monthly short film festival to give filmmakers outside of the BisayaFlix crew the chance to tell their stories on the platform.

These shorts include “Prison Mind” directed by and starring Jerome Estillore, “When the Snow Melts” by Derick Estrada, “Ang Albularyo” by Harold Labora, “Sayaw sa Kinabuhi” by Claude Wright, “Bugsay Ysmael” by Kerby Colanggo, “Pangandoy nga Gakos” by Albert Pausal, “The Perfect World” by Raniel Cordova, and “Kisdom” by Jerome Tagole.