VIVA actress Rhen Escano was presented to the local media of Singapore along with her Vietnamese actor leading man, Ho Thanh Trung and fast-rising Singaporean director Sean Ng who directs an international movie, “Sunday,” a bitter-sweet love story that happened in Singapore between domestic helper Lily (Rhen) and migrant worker, a bus boy (Minh). The press presentation was held last August 16, Monday.

Si Sean Ng ay isang Singaporean writer, cinematographer, director at producer. He co-produced “Love Shop” TV series at nakapag-direk ng dalawang short films, ang “Sepuloh” in 2012 at “A Golden Mile” in 2019. Ang “Sunday” ay first full-length directorial job niya.

Playing support sa pelikula ay ang popular actress na si Michelle Saram ng Taiwanese series na “Meteor Garden” at nakapagbida na rin siya sa iba’t ibang TV series not only in Singapore but also in Taiwan ang Hong Kong. Ang ama ni Saram ay Indian at Chinese naman ang kanyang ina.

Also playing a support role in the movie is Singaporean actor Adrian Pang.

Hindi halos makapaniwala si Rhen na mai-experience niyang makagawa ng international movie and will be presented sa local media ng Singapore.

“Grabe Tita, nasa support role lang si Michelle Saram. She’s a popular actress sa Taiwan,” bulalas ni Rhen.

Ang kanyang leading man naman na si Ho Thanh Trung ay hindi lamang sa Vietnam popular kundi sa iba pang lugar ng Asia including Singapore.

The media presentation ng pelikulang “Sunday” was also covered ng AsiaOne, Asia’s leading news portal in Singapore.

Samantala, although kapapalabas pa lamang sa Vivamax at iba pang digital platforms including ktx.ph, iWant TFC at TFC IPTV ang movie na “The Other Wife” na pinagsamahan nila nina Lovi Poe at Joem Bascon, nakatakda namang ipalabas on same platforms ang kanyang pelikulang “Paraluman,” isang May-December affair love story na pinagtatambalan nila ng `90’s matinee idol na si Jao Mapa mula sa panulat at direksiyon ni Yam Laranas na nakakuha na ng mahigit isang milyon views sa trailer pa lamang ng pelikula. May dalawa pa siyang movie sa Viva Films na hindi pa rin naipapalabas, ang “Rooftop” also written and directed by Yam Laranas at ang Philippine adaptation ng Korean hit movie na “Spellbound” kung saan sina Bela Padilla at Marco Gumabao ang mg pangunahing bituin.

The vision of Boss Vic

WE had the privilege to work with Boss Vic del Rosario, Jr. nung sila ng kanyang pinsan na si Boss Orly Ilacad ang may-ari at nagpapatakbo ng kanilang sariling record company noon, ang Vicor Music Corporation, ang acronynm of their respective first names, Vic and Orly in mid-70’s. Noon pa man ay kitang-kita na sa mag-pinsan ang kanilang passion sa kanilang itinayong negosyo maging sa larangan ng musika.

During the 70’s, ang Vicor ang pangunahing record company ng bansa with most of the top recording stars and artists ay nakakontrata sa kanila. They continue to churn out hits after hits coming from established and new recordings artists. Pero sa kabila ng tagumpay na tinatamasa noon ng Vicor, nagkahiwalay ang magpinsan sa kanilang itinayong negosyo at nagpasyang magtayo ng kanilang respective solo businesses. Boss Vic came up with Viva Records and Viva Films habang si Boss Orly naman ay nagtayo ng kanilang sariling record company, ang OctoArts International and eventually ay sumunod din sa pagpu-produce ng pelikula sa pamamagitan ng OctoArts Films.

Between Boss Vic and Boss Orly, mas risk taker si Boss Vic. Kumbaga sa sugar, he is much of a gambler compared to Boss Orly. But OctoArts made its way in sa recording business in 1978 up to mid-90’s and later-on decided to focus on just producing films dahil sa paghina ng recording business sa bansa dahil na rin sa piracy at pag-diversify into other platforms. But in 1997 up to the present time, Boss Orly has decided to slow down on producing films habang nagpatuloy naman si Boss Vic sa kabila ng pagbagsak ng movie industry na siya ring naging dahilan ng paghinto sa pagpu-produce ng ibang established at kilalang film producers. Boss Vic continued producing films not only for theatrical release kundi bilang content na rin sa iba’t ibang platform including PBO, Sari-Sari, Sa recoding naman ay nakipagsabayan na rin siya sa audio streaming platforms. He also strengthened his talent management sa pamamagitan ng Viva Artists Agency na pinamumunuan naman ng kanyang second child na si Veronique del Rosario-Corpus while his eldest son na si Vincent del Rosario (Vicente del Rosario III) ay siya namang tumatayong President-CEO ng kanilang kumpanyang Viva Communications, Inc. (formerly Viva Entertainment) with his two other children na sina Valerie at VR del Rosario handling other divisions.

Boss Vic is proud of his four children and even grandchildren now manning the respective companies ng Viva Group of Companies.

“When it’s time for me to retire, I am very confident na kaya nang patakbuhin ng mga anak at mga apo ko ang kumpanyang itinatag ko,” proud na pahayag ni Boss Vic.

Since they were young ay exposed na sina Vincent, Veronique, Valerie at VR sa mga negosyo ng kanilang ama kaya lumaki silang unti-unting natututo at nagkaka-interes sa business na itinayo ng kanilang ama. Ultimo ang mga anak ni Vincent (being the eldest) ay bahagi na rin ng Viva Communications as the third generation ng Del Rosario clan.

We have always considered Boss Vic as a business visionary. Masyado siyang advance mag-isip.

Before the pandemic happened last year, Viva was already gearing up to produce from 20 to 40 films with a one billion-peso budget not only for theatrical release kundi bilang content ng iba’t ibang platform including PBO, Sari Sari and Cignal TV among others. But an unforeseen circurmstance happened nang mag-lock down ang NCR at iba pang lugar ng Pilipinas dahil sa Covid-19 coronavirus which prompted various businesses to shut down including cinemas among others. Movie shoots and TV tapings were also stopped. Pero sa halip na mabahala, Boss Vic started conceptualizing and put up his own streaming business and in no time at all, Vivamax was born and was formally launched last January 29, 2021 with the movie “Paglaki Ko Gusto Ko Maging Pornstar” by Darryl Yap hanggang sa maging sunud-sunod na ang pagpapalabas ng mga bagong material on a weekly basis. Vivamax also collaborated with other established streaming brand companies for a wider coverage. Boss Vic also started negotiating with different business partners globally kaya hindi na lamang sa Pilipinas napapanood ang Vivamax kundi maging sa Middle East, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, North America at iba pang bansa and have started licensing deals with other stop film companies including Star Cinema, Regal Films, Idel First, Project 8, Reality Entertainment, TBA, Cignal Entertainment, Brillante Mendoza’s Centerstage Productiobns, Black Cap Pictures, BlackOps, The Probe Team at iba pa. Kasama rin dito ang paga-acquire ng Viva ng 500-catalogue titles ng mga popular South Korean movies at iba pang franchise ng mga kilalang international game shows and programs.

Sa loob lamang ng anim na buwan, isang milestone ang na-achieve ng Vivamax now competing with other global platforms in the market.

Vivamax has now the biggest library of aggregated content with about 15 titles being streamed every week which include originally-produced series, movies, documentaries, concerts at iba pa and to increase in the coming months. Bukod sa mga locally-produced movies ng Viva, mapapanood din sa Vivamax ang Tagagalized Hollyood and Asian films including Korean blockbuster movies na puwedeng mapanood sa mobile phones at sa TV screens

Dahil sa Vivamax, Viva Films is now the busiest film studio in the country. Bukod sa solo-produced movies ng kumpanya, they are also into partnership with other film companies.

Sa kabila ng pandemya, hindi tumigil ang Viva sa pagpu-produce ng pelikula at iba’t ibang TV series but complying with the health protocols required by IATF.