Back to TV movies

BY NESTOR CUARTERO

JUST A THOUGHT: You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it. – Robin Williams

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BRING BACK TV MOV­IES: Faced with numer­ous constraints in pro­duction under a state of quarantine, perhaps it’s time TV networks revived an old program format, the tele-cine.

Also previously known as the TV mov­ie, such a format can momentarily take the place of the teleserye, which is much more complicated to produce given the circumstanc­es. Safety measures on set require sanitation, social distancing, mini­mum number of people in production, multi-tasking of staff.

For one, the TV movie (in Hollywood, it’s called made-for-TV movie), has a shorter running time, usually from one and a half to two hours only. It was a popular format on TV in the 90s, patronized by Regal Films which produced a number of telecines for GMA at the time.

While the same con­ditions during filming remain the same and are to be met strictly, TV movies don’t require too many days to shoot. Two days are usually enough to put one movie in the can.

They also offer some­thing new to viewers, with a different cast, story and direction each time.

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TELESINE PRES­ENTS: Looks like GMA has brought back the telemovie with the re­cent launch of “Telesine Presents,” airing Sunday nights.

Shown last August 30 was a TV movie called “Multo,” which starred Ruffa Gutierrez, playing a woman whose spirit seeks revenge for her tragic passing.