More safeguards against piracy

MANILA, Philippines - Star Cinema said that more safeguards are in place to deal with any incidence of online piracy for its future films, including the upcoming Barcelona: A Love Untold starring Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo.   

To recall, one of its more recent releases The Achy Breaky Hearts was uploaded without consent on social media, particularly Facebook, prompting not only people who were part of the film but also other members of the entertainment industry to cry foul. If it could happen to a well-established film arm like Star Cinema, how much more to independent productions? 

For its part, Star Cinema formed an ad hoc committee to focus on the problem. “We’ve been working with authorities ever since it happened (with The Achy Breaky Hearts) so steps have been done and are continuously being done,” Mico del Rosario, Adprom head of Star Cinema, told The STAR.  

“Sobrang affected (the box-office sales) and if people continue to do this, mamamatay talaga ang business,” recalled Del Rosario.

He didn’t give any estimated cost of loss, but with the video reportedly getting hundreds of thousands of views and shares before it was taken down, and with cinema tickets priced at about P200 each, one can do the math.

He also asked for vigilance from movie fans to report on illegal links and leakages. “We’re always taking measures that our films will not be pirated but we’re also enjoining fans and movie lovers to help us fight off film piracy.”

Del Rosario said that some of the digital natives, especially the younger ones, might not be aware that it is an offense punishable by law “so hopefully we (develop) a mindset that it really is a form of stealing.” 

To date, the Philippines has two different laws on piracy. These are R.A. 8298 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and the R.A. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Anti-film piracy advocates, however, are pushing for a more specific legislation to address online piracy. 

More awareness efforts on anti-film piracy as well as intellectual property rights should target the youth being the future artists and content producers. Del Rosario added he’s hoping that it will be part of the agenda of the new leadership in concerned agencies. “Whether it’s camcording or ripping, it’s still stealing. Sana yung government magkaroon ng education drive about it.”

Meanwhile, the latest Star Cinema film Barcelona: A Love Untold is touted as the “transition” vehicle for ABS-CBN’s teen king and queen, as they start to depart from the teen-oriented TV and film projects they’ve been known for. 

Barcelona is directed by Olivia Lamasan and written by Carmi Raymundo. The director’s last film was Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga’s Starting Over Again (2015), also with Raymundo as screenwriter. 

According to Raymundo, finding the right mix for the film was “difficult for the whole team because Kathryn and DJ came from (the movies) She’s Dating a Gangster, Crazy Beautiful You, which was all-out kilig, with the concerns of their characters very young. So we had to assist them without forcing on them that ‘Hey, you have to be mature (here).’ Talagang si Inang (Olivia Lamasan) from the get-go, she said we have to make this more real, more appropriate to their age.” So, from the tone, to the texture, to the characterization, Lamasan was very hands-on “because this is a transition film.”

Barcelona follows the story of Ely (Daniel), a young man who can’t get over his former love Celine, but meets Mia (Kathryn), a young woman who flees from her painful past in the Philippines and finds herself in Spain to rebuild her life.

Raymundo said that it’s a “story of forgiveness and of starting over” with love at its very core. Backdropped by Barcelona, the arguably most famous tourist attraction there, the Sagrada Familia church, will also have a central role in the film. She adds that the UNESCO World Heritage Site stands as a metaphor for it was built by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí as “atonement, to ask for forgiveness for the whole city at that time.”  

One month before the filming, Raymundo said that she and Lamasan went ahead to talk to OFWs and kababayan to further enrich the material.

The filming lasted for three weeks and according to the stars, shooting every day proved challenging because for one, they had a lean crew and so they also experienced being “the staff and crew” themselves. “But ang sarap ng feeling (it was a great feeling) because we became a team. We bonded as a team,” said Padilla.    

The young actor added KathNiel fans are in for a surprise, if not shock, because their characters are very different from everything they’ve done before. 

“I think for our KathNiel fans, magugulat sila, maninibago,” he said. “(That’s why) ang laking blessing ni Inang because she was there to give us so many tools to help bring our emotions out,” from music, to written notes for inner monologues, to moral support. 

“I promise everyone that they will see a maturity (in us),” said Kathryn.

Both Kathryn, 20, and Daniel, 21 — who were first paired in Princess & I — also said that the film is their thank-you gift to fans for their five years of support.

Barcelona: A Love Untold will premiere on Sept. 14 in cinemas nationwide.