Filipino vertical dramas vie for space alongside full-length local, foreign movies

At a time when Filipino movies face stiff competition from foreign titles for streaming platforms and screening venues, filmmaker Maki Javier made a bold move to carve out space for homegrown films in the digital landscape.

Javier believes there is enough room for both Filipino and Hollywood films to coexist in a given platform, and even more, for vertical films to come into the picture, with the latter’s ever-increasing audience appeal among smartphone users.

READ: ‘Soap opera on cocaine’: How vertical dramas flipped Hollywood

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Vertical movies are snappy full-length drama released in bite-sized episodes in vertical or portrait format, allowing viewers to easily watch on their mobile phones. Since the episodes usually end with a cliffhanger, viewers are then encouraged to subscribe for a smoother watching experience.

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“Mas maikli per episode, mas mabibilis yung plot. Tapos yung consumption mabilisan lang,” he told reporters at the launch of the all-Filipino start-up streaming platform KayaFlix recently.

Javier, who sits as the founder and creative director of KayaFlix, said he hopes to tap into the streaming market through a number of vertical film titles boasting of unique storytelling now under its label.

The goal was simple: to make Filipino stories more accessible to Filipinos while giving homegrown storytellers and creatives a platform where their work can reach a new generation of audiences. KayaFlix acknowledges this shift by offering stories that are immersive and emotional, combining the depth of a teleserye with the pace of modern digital entertainment.

Currently, the platform has six of different genres that they are now offering for a minimal subscription fee, while six more are for release in the coming days. Actors are not necessarily virtual unknowns as most of them come from theater.

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While vertical films are not a novel idea in the Philippine entertainment landscape, Javier said they hope to provide viewers an alternative to the usual fare of Hollywood titles and mainstream series on digital streaming platforms.

Asked if there is really a market for Filipino vertical films, Javier said they were also surprised by the number of people who have expressed their support just days after their launch, including subscribers.

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However, he admitted that there are still those who typecast Filipino vertical titles as against full-length films.

“I’m sure meron pa ring iba na ang pagtingin sa medium na yon ay hindi sya art. Kase parang mga tao, even outside the industry, they are pitting one medium against the other. Na ang TV ay hindi silver screen, ang silver screen ay hindi vertical. Pero ang point of view ko naman, ang challenge ay sa audience to consume. We can co-exist,” he said.

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“As audiences continue to consume content on mobile devices, storytelling is evolving alongside them. So sana I-accept din nila ang verticals na may kayang istoryang ibigay with that same level na makikita nila yung production value, even though very minimal lang ang [subscription] cost… Let’s make it accessible nalang for the market, wag na tayo mag laban-laban,” he added.