Acclaimed director Olivia “Olive” M. Lamasan is stepping down from her post as managing director of ABS-CBN Film Productions. Inc.
Screenwriter and Black Sheep head Kriz Anthony Gazmen has been appointed as the new head of ABS-CBN Films effective May 1, 2022.
This was announced by ABS-CBN Films on Friday, April 29, 2022.
ABS-CBN Films is the film outfit of the Kapamilya station that houses the brands Star Cinema, Black Sheep, Cinema One Originals, among others.
ABS-CBN Films said in a statement: “In his new role, Kriz will usher in a fresh era of storytelling as ABS-CBN Films continues to explore novel approaches in content creation and platform migration in order to reach more audiences.”
Kris first joined Star Cinema in 2007 as creative producer. From then, he was able to produce scripts for different ABS-CBN movies such as I Love You Goodbye (2009), No Other Woman (2011), One More Try (2012), The Trial (2014), and Etiquette for Mistresses (2015).
In 2015, Kriz became a creative director in ABS-CBN Films. It was in 2018 when he established the ABS-CBN Films brand Black Sheep and became its head.
Some of the notable films Black Sheep has produced were Exes Baggage (2018), Alone/Together (2019), Between Maybes (2019), Clarita (2019), and Isa Pa With Feelings (2019).
Black Sheep also produced the hit Boys Love series Hello, Stranger in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Olive remains in ABS-CBN Films as consultant for content, partnerships, and talent management via RISE Artists Studio.
Also known as “Inang” in the film industry, Olive has directed several projects for Star Cinema for 34 years like Sana Maulit Muli (1995), Madrasta (1996), Minsan, Minahal Kita (2000), Got 2 Believe (2002), The Mistress (2012), Starting Over Again (2014), Barcelona: A Love Untold (2017), among others.
Olive also used to be a creative director on ABS-CBN Films’ TV arm, Star Creatives, and helped produce shows such as Maalaala Mo Kaya, Sa Sandaling Kailangan Mo Ako (1998), Pangako Sa ‘Yo (2000), and Forevermore (2015).
ABS-CBN Films said about Olive, “Amid the many challenges brought by the pandemic, Olive steered ABS-CBN Films towards new ventures and partnerships, making its well-loved content available across different platforms while maintaining its position as a reliable producer of inspiring Filipino stories.”
Among the last ventures of ABS-CBN Films with Olive as head is its partnership with rival network GMA-7 to air some of its well-loved movies.
Read: GMA-7 inks deal with ABS-CBN; to air Star Cinema movies
Olive became the head of ABS-CBN Films in 2018 and replaced its long-time head Malou Santos.
READ ALSO: