The challenges of lockdowns and government protocols have forced the local film industry to find alternative distribution platforms and pivot to digital online platforms.

Prior to the pandemic, online streaming of movies was a relatively emerging concept. This 2022, the Philippines has fully recognized the inevitable and has been actively exploring this frontier of the streaming platform.

The then-emerging market of online streaming has become the norm and not just an exception. While everybody waits for a safer return to the cinemas, streaming has grown to become the primary source of entertainment for many people who were forced to stay indoors and have limited outdoor lives.

Before Netflix, there was YouTube, the biggest platform not just for movies but for all video content. Filipino film outfit TBA Studios released some of its award-winning international movies for free on their YouTube channel including "K'na the Dreamweaver," Baby Ruth Villarama's documentary "Sunday Beauty Queen," and Sheron Dayoc's "Women of the Weeping River."

This move possibly made available a gateway to young audiences to see Filipino movies again and see that it is definitely worth their while. Aside from TBA Studios, Black Sheep, Star Cinema, and Viva Films have also made their movies accessible on YouTube for free viewing.

The shift to online platforms

Another critical discussion in adapting to our current circumstances is that film, being a business enterprise, remains in need of a feasible market. In the face of closures of venues and safety concerns among the paying movie public, where will film outfits get their revenue?

Typically, a film distributor will recoup the production expenses by selling the rights to cinema houses, DVD sales, and television — in that order. The disruption of online platforms changes this picture. This technological innovation has radically changed the way films are monetized.

For one, a film can now do without the regular order of distribution and go directly to streaming on an online platform before, say a theatrical release. Take for example the film "Dune" which was first shown online but still became a box office success as fans wanted to have the cinematic experience as well.

Although its rise has been steady since its beginning in 2007, the skyrocket of Netflix to 16 million additional subscribers just for the period of January to March in 2020 was still astounding. This is just about a year into the global health crisis that forced people to stay at home. Last September, Netflix total subscribers reached 213 million.

These numbers show the demand for movies worldwide. A demand new players in the online streaming field took on. Now, aside from Netflix, there is HBO Go, Amazon Prime Video, WeTV, Disney+, Mubi, Apple TV+, Hulu, and many more.

There are also those sites for specific genres such as iFlix and iQiyi (for Asian titles), Crunchyroll (for anime), and Viu (for KDramas). For Filipino content, there's iWantTFC, PopTV, KTX, Cignal Play, Upstream, Vivamax, and of course our very own FDCP Channel, which you can subscribe to.

These streaming sites give subscribers access to vast archives of films and shows for the right price. On this momentum, I wonder how many more new streaming services we will have by the end of this year.

A new frontier for Filipino films

Younger generations can now binge-watch the shows their parents used to catch on TV like "Friends" and "Gilmore Girls." Movies released from decades ago are now accessible for the new audience to appreciate. In a way, it is like giving a new lease on (screen) life to the films and shows that are otherwise relegated to the dustbins of memory.

Online streaming has created a new frontier for content to be available to a wider audience. This goes also for filmmakers looking for a platform for their movies. Let us see what Filipino movies are streaming in these platforms:

Apple TV + is screening some Pinoy classics including the following movies: "Dekada '70," "Madrasta (The Stepmother)," "Anak," "Tanging Yaman," "Sana Maulit Muli."

Amazon Prime Video has a diverse list including a documentary on Jennifer Laude ("Call Her Ganda"), a Singaporean production with a Filipina actress ("Iloilo"), and a Charo Santos-Concio starrer by esteemed director Lav Diaz ("Ang Babaeng Humayo")

WeTV is currently showing more recent Filipino films such as: "Signal Rock," "Resureksyon," "Die Beautiful," and "The Rapist."

Mubi is the more arthouse among the current platforms with a list including "Perfumed Nightmare," "From What is Before," "Evolution of a Filipino Family," "Melancholia," "Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution," "An Investigation on the Night that Won't Forget," "Death Force," and "Vampire Hookers."

Netflix remains to carry the largest selection of Filipino films which includes the following movies: "Goyo: The Boy General," "Ang Pangarap kong Holdap," "Heneral Luna," "Pan de Salawal," "Arisaka," "BuyBust," "Fan Girl," "Saving Sally," "Bwakaw," "Dead Kids," "Kalel, 15," "Birdshot" and "Ordinary People (Pamilya Ordinaryo)"

Filipino films are making progress in penetrating the biggest online platforms (HBO Go screened the award-winning "On the Job: The Missing 8" last year). Digital streaming has ceased from being an emerging media but has now become an ubiquitous source of content. It can be said that the streaming game is the future of distribution and exhibition.

However, it not only opens new opportunities but also new challenges and issues. Streaming has begun new market behaviors such as the favoring of shows with shorter runs to entice new subscribers (compared with longer runs which sell more to return subscribers). Or the change in order of distribution to up the marketing game. But that is for another discussion.

Last year, the South Korean series "Squid Game" became the most watched Netflix show released. But the more intriguing part is that those who watched it started watching more Korean content. It became a gateway movie for more viewers and more investments in the country's film sector. I am hoping for the same success for our films.

With our films out there as our portfolio, and if we work on producing consistent quality content, I am hopeful that we are well on our way to conquering not just the new frontier of digital streaming but also the challenges of shaping the next normal of the Philippine film industry

Notes from the Chair
The Sunday Times Magazine  - The Manila Times

Notes from the Chair is part of the Arts Awake section of The Sunday Times Magazine published by The Manila Times. Click HERE to view the article on The Manila Times website.