Jose Lorenzo "Pepe" Diokno III (born August 13, 1987) is a Filipino film director, producer, and screenwriter. His debut film, ''
Engkwentro'' premiered at the
2009 Venice Film Festival
The 66th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was held from 2 to 12 September 2009, with Maria Grazia Cucinotta serving as the festival's hostess. The opening film of the festival was '' Baarìa'' by Giuseppe Torn ...
and received the Lion of the Future ("Luigi de Laurentiis") Award for
Best Debut Film, as well as the
Orizzonti Prize.
He has since produced feature films, including ''Above the Clouds'' and ''Kapatiran''.
Early life and career
Diokno was born in Manila, the first of six children of
Chel Diokno, a lawyer and the founding dean of the
De La Salle University (DLSU) College of Law, and Divina Aromin, a writer. He was named after his grandfather, the late Philippine senator and freedom fighter,
Jose W. Diokno
Jose Wright Diokno (February 26, 1922 – February 27, 1987), also known as "''Ka Pepe''", was a Filipino nationalist, lawyer, and politician. Regarded as the "Father of Human Rights Advocacy in the Philippines", he served as Senator of th ...
, the father of human rights and founder of the
Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), who died six months before he was born. Pepe's great-great-grandfather is
Gen. Ananías Diokno, leader of the Visayan forces during the
1896 Revolution and
war against the United States.
Diokno attended
La Salle Green Hills
La Salle Green Hills ("LSGH") is a private Catholic school run by the Philippine District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1959 by the D ...
for grade school and high school, and the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 2008 ...
to take up a bachelor's degree in film.
In 2006, at 17 years old, Diokno made his first short film, an eight-minute dark comedy entitled ''No Passport Needed''. The film was a finalist at the second
Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. This was followed in 2008, by a short documentary entitled ''Dancing For Discipline'', which tells the story of the dancing inmates at the
Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center
Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) is a jail facility in Cebu, in Cebu Province, Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, ...
. The documentary was produced by Rock Ed Philippines and
The Asia Foundation
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to "improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia". The Asia Foundation (TAF) was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on be ...
and enabled Diokno to visit detention facilities around the Philippines. It was at one such facility, in
Davao City
Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the Li ...
, that he met two brothers that would inspire his first feature film.
Career
Film
In 2009, at 21-years-old and still a student at the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 2008 ...
, Diokno made his debut feature, ''
Engkwentro''. Produced on a meager budget, it tells the story of two teenage brothers on the run from a vigilante death squad, while throughout the film, the omnipresent voice of an iron-fisted mayor blasts on. The film premiered at the 2009
Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, and was then selected to the 2009
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, where it received the Lion of the Future - "Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for Best Debut Film, as well as the Orizzonti Prize for new trends in cinema. It also received the
NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the 2010
Jeonju International Film Festival
Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, Korean: 전주국제영화제, Hanja: 全州國際映畵祭) is an Asian film festival. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival with partial competition. It introduces independent a ...
, and the
Gawad Urian for Best Editing.
Diokno's second film, ''Above the Clouds'' premiered at the 2014
Tokyo International Film Festival
The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...
and was nominated Best Film at the 2014
Singapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform for ...
. The family drama tells the story of an orphaned teenage boy and his estranged grandfather embarking on a journey to overcome their grief. The Filipino-French co-production took three years to make, and was produced with the support of France's
Aide aux cinemas du monde, South Korea's Asian Cinema Fund, Switzerland's Visions Sud Est and the Arte Prize from the 2012
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
.
In 2015, Diokno produced his third feature, ''Kapatiran'', an experimental film cum cinematic essay on fraternities and Filipino society’s tribal nature. It was an Official Selection at the
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has beco ...
, and was a grantee of the
QCinema International Film Festival. In some ways, the film was a return to Diokno's roots — a low-budget, realist work of social commentary. Critics described the film as “absolutely brave", “exceptionally personal and powerful", “Harsh, heartening, dizzying, and deadly", and “a fascinating experiment".
Other projects
Diokno has made short films and commercials with companies such as
Jollibee
Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). As of December 2021, JFC had a total of about 1,500 Jollibee outlets worldwide, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Asia ...
,
P&G,
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, ...
,
BPI, and many others. He directed the ''Kwentong Jollibee'' film ''Date'' and the
Safeguard
A safeguard, in international law, is a restraint on international trade or economic development to protect communities from development aggression or home industries from foreign competition.
In the World Trade Organization (WTO), a member may ...
film ''Pabaon sa Buhay''. Both these films set
viral video
A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander H ...
records and international advertising awards.
During the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
crisis in 2020, Diokno gathered celebrities and produced a series of pro-bono commercials for the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ...
to raise awareness about the virus among Filipinos with no access to the Internet.
Diokno is chairman of the independent production company Epicmedia. He co-produced
Lav Diaz’s Berlin
Silver Bear
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
winner, ''
Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis'', and the box office hit ''
That Thing Called Tadhana'' by
Antoinette Jadaone.
Filmography
Ancestry
References
External links
Pepe Diokno - Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diokno, Pepe
1987 births
Filipino film directors
Living people
Tagalog people
LGBT film directors
LGBT entertainers from the Philippines
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
People from Manila
Filipino screenwriters
Filipino film producers
Asian film producers
University of the Philippines Diliman alumni
Diokno family
Filipino people of Indian descent