The Directors
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Pepe Diokno
Pepe Diokno is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. His first ever feature film “Engkwentro,” produced when he was still a student at the University of the Philippines Diliman, won the Lion of the Future – “Luigi de Laurentiis” Award and the Orizzonti Prize at the 2009 Venice Film Festival among other local and international awards. His second film “Above the Clouds” and his third “Kapatiran” have also received international acclaim.
For UxS, Diokno has done projects for huge companies such as Jollibee, P& G, Unilever, BPI, and many others. He directed the Kwentong Jollibee film “Date” and the Safeguard film “Pabaon sa Buhay”. Both these films set viral video records as well as international advertising awards.
Diokno is Chairman of the independent production company Epicmedia.He co - produced Lav Diaz’s Berlin Silver Bear winner, “Hele Sa Hiwaga Ng Hapis”, and the box office hit “That Thing Called Tadhana” by Antoinette Jadaone.
With and through UxS, Pepe’s trademark short films and commercials have been viewed by tens of millions worldwide.
Samantha Lee
Samantha Lee is a director who advocates for better representation of women and the LGBTQ+ community in local media.
After completing her Master of Communication, with distinction, at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) she moved back to the Philippines to write and direct her first feature film, “Baka Bukas” (2016). It won the “Emerging Talent Award” at Outfest 2017 and the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. It has screened in festivals in New York, San Francisco, Osaka, Melbourne, Madrid, and Hamburg.
Her second film, called “Billie and Emma” (2018) won the Audience Award for Best Narrative at Inside Out 2019, the Jury Award Runner-Up for Best International Film in Out on Film Atlanta and Runner-Up for Audience Award for Favorite Feature at Seattle Queer Film Festival. It has been screened in over thirty film festivals internationally.
Her first series starring Lovi Poe and Janine Gutierrez is set to premiere internationally this July.
She has talked about using romantic comedies as a trojan horse for advocating for women's and LGBTQ+ issues in various publications like Vice, Paper, and Nylon.
Mikhail Red
Mikhail Red is a Filipino filmmaker and director based in Manila, Philippines.
At 21, he wrote and directed his first feature film REKORDER which had its international premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The film won several international awards including the Best Director prize at the 2014 Vancouver International Film Festival.
His second film BIRDSHOT, won the Doha Film Institute grant and CJ Entertainment award at Busan during its development. BIRDSHOT went on to win at the Tokyo International Film Festival and was later selected as the Philippine entry to the Academy Awards, it was also the first Filipino Film to be internationally distributed on Netflix.
Mikhail’s 3rd film Neomanila was selected in festivals such as Rotterdam, Shanghai, and Fantasia.
His 4th film Eerie was one of the highest grossing horror films in the Philippines and was later picked up by Netflix for international release.
His 5th film Dead Kids became the first Filipino Netflix Original.
His latest film Arisaka will have its world premiere in the Main Competition section of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Mikhail Red is also currently finishing season 3 of the dark fantasy thriller series Halfworlds for HBO. He is represented by Scott Henderson of CAA and managed by Ari Lubet of 3 Arts Entertainment for international projects. He is also a TVC director represented by FILMEX Inc. for advertising projects.
Noel Escondo & Tristan Cua
Noel Escondo
Noel Escondo is an actor, director and producer for films, TV, and advertising. He studied Theater Arts in UP Diliman and Aircraft Maintenance Technology in PATTS College of Aeronautics.
He has performed with Dulaang UP, Gantimpala Theater Foundation, Tanghalang Pilipino, and CCP's Virgin Labfest and was nominated twice as Best Stage Actor by Aliw Awards.
He also worked in the TV industry for 15 years in various capacities such as writer, producer and director. His short films such as Alaala, Baon, Last Night and Lorna were screened and honored in local and international film festivals.
He received a Gawad Urian and Minikino International Film Festival Best Short Film in 2017 for Nakaw. Recently, he was nominated as Gawad Urian Best Actor for “Memories of Forgetting”.
Mark Tristan Cua
As one of the pioneer mobile filmmakers in the country, Mark Tristan Cua founded the group Mobile Filmmaking Philippines. He formed it in 2018 as he aims to share his skills and ideas to those who don't have the means to purchase their own camera equipment. He believes that a smartphone can be a tool for an aspiring and passionate filmmaker or vlogger.
He’s the cinematographer of Cinemalaya 2017’s “Nakaw,” a one-take short film. It was followed by another one-take short film entitled, “The Gathering” which competed in various international film festivals. Currently, he works as a D.O.P./Editor in a PR agency while pursuing his passion and continuously sharing his knowledge and insights in mobile filmmaking.
