Viva And SM Entertainment Collaborate To Put Up Sine Asia Theatre Showcasing The Best Asian Films In Tagalized Version

LOVERS OF GOOD ASIAN films, rejoice! Viva International Pictures and SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. join forces to bring us the best films from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Thailand in a special theatre outlet in SM Cinemas to be called SineAsia Theatre. All the films shown here will be dubbed in Tagalog. This will be launched in March and the first offering is “Gangnam Blues” starring Korean superstar Lee Min Ho in an action drama about two friends who grow up together but became enemies. Lee Min Ho is Kim Jong Dae, the good friend, while Kim Rae Won is Baek Yong Ki, his friend who sides with gangsters. The song “Anak” by Freddie Aguilar, which is very popular in Korea, is used as a theme song in this film.

Other Tagalized films to be shown soon are: “Vegas to Macau” – A Hongkong Chinese film starring Chow Yun Fat, Nick Cheung and Carina Lau; “My Love, My Bride” – A South Korean romantic comedy starring Jo Jung-suk and Shin Min-ah; “Mourning Grave” – a Korean horror mystery starring Kang Ha Neui and Kim So Eun; and “Rise of the Legend” – A Hongkong Chinese action kung fu film starring Sammo Hung as Lei Gong, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang.

Sine Asia Theatre will be found at SM Megamall, SM Sta. Mesa, SM Fairview, SM Iloilo, SM Bacoor, SM Cebu, SM Manila and SM North Edsa
Viva exec Vincent del Rosario said that they earlier introduced the Tagalized Movie Channel (TMC) in October 2014 and it’s a big hit, just like Koreanovelas on free TV, so Viva believes there’s a market for Tagalized Asian movies in theatres.

SM exec Edgar Terejero said we need more movies to be shown in our theatres to give the viewers more choices. “In a year, only 30 to 40 Tagalog film are shown, so we need more content to supply our theatres,” he says. “When Viva offered Sine Asia to us, we liked the idea immediately dahil mas dadami ang choice ng mga manonood aside from the usual Hollywood films we release. With Asian films, we can learn more about the life and culture of our Asian neighbors for better understanding in our region.”