Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

Filipina pride and modern-day icon, Ms. Universe Pia Wurtzbach boards a jeepney. She opens her discovery+ app and notices that the characters from the shows she’s watching are coming to life right before her. From a mysterious detective, to a vibrant drag queen and even a great white shark, the jeepney is just as packed as the app on her phone. As she disembarks the vehicle with the characters she enters the immersive world that only the app can offer. She is amazed, bewildered and entertained as the characters engage with the Filipinos in a fiesta-like setting. She looks around and sees how an app that fits on her phone can indeed be larger-than-life. We then see that the app has a limited-time offer of Php 129/year. Now that is a plus!

Cultural / Context information for the jury

What better way to arrive in style in the Philippines than via the ubiquitous, colorful Jeepney? The symbol of Filipino creativity, ingenuity and vibrancy, and now the most essential means of transport for the everyday Filipino. The colorful, unique and creative designs, the capacity to hold 22 people from all walks of life, the regular jeepney scene that captures the realness of life, it was the perfect symbol for discovery+ and what the brand represents – full of life and unexpected. The discovery+ jeepney drove around famous landmarks in the city and was filled with unexpected discovery+ characters – representative of the larger than life entertainment they can find in the app. Led by Pia Wurtzbach, the most celebrated Filipina Miss Universe of this generation, these signature characters get immersed in an extraordinary hyper-real world full of cultural references and nuances only Filipinos can relate to.

Tell the jury about the ambitions & challenges of production process.

Film production was planned at the height of the pandemic in the Philippines. Due to strict lockdowns, shoot was moved to New Zealand, where we tapped an NZ-based Filipino director to act as creative consultant. This gave the team in Manila and clients in Singapore more time to prepare and shoot while maintaining the material’s Filipino soul. However, 1 week prior to the shoot, NZ announced a lockdown. This led the team to bring back production to the Philippines, which had already relaxed restrictions then. In spite of the short lead time, production worked double time to make it happen– casting for characters, building a jeepney from scratch, hunting for shoot locations, rushing to create Pia Wurtzbach’s costume and dashing to her quarantine hotel for fitting. In the end, it all paid off, even when the team had experienced a nerve-wracking wait for Pia’s clearance from the Bureau of Quarantine.