
Pepe Diokno
Directing
Biography
Jose Lorenzo Diokno III (born on 13 August 1987) is a Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter. His debut film, Engkwentro (2009), premiered at the 66th Venice Film Festival and received the Lion of the Future ("Luigi de Laurentiis") Award for Best Debut Film as well as the Orizzonti Prize. His other films include Above the Clouds (2014), Kapatiran (2015), and GomBurZa (2023), for which he won the Best Director Award at the 49th Metro Manila Film Festival.
Known For

Two teenage brothers are attempting to escape an unnamed city controlled by an iron-fisted mayor. They must first break away from the cycle of crime, while trying to run from rival gang leaders and the state's murderous vigilantes.
Engkwentro

Amid drought and famine in Cupang, young Elsa claims to have seen the Virgin Mary and subsequently been blessed with the ability to heal the sick. As people flock to witness her powers, the village becomes consumed by faith, prosperity, greed, and deceit. Is Elsa truly a symbol of hope in a world desperate for salvation?
A Miracle

A powerful and moving historical drama that tells the courageous story of three Filipino Catholic priests: Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora.
GomBurZa

A woman tries to cling onto dimming links to her past after inheriting a pygmy slow loris from her long-estranged husband; meanwhile, her niece prepares for marriage as the young couple ponders their gloomy future together. The present and the complex echoes of Vietnamese history are entwined before a contemplative and poetic perspective.
Cu Li Never Cries

A 15-year-old boy goes on a hiking trip with his estranged grandfather, and overcomes the grief of losing his parents on a mountain above the clouds.
Above the Clouds

Set in the 1970s, Angela, a college student, returns to her ancestral home to care for her ailing grandmother. She argues with her eccentric mother within the old house’s walls, slowly uncovering hidden truths about her family’s tumultuous past and drawing her into a personal and political labyrinth from which she must find her path out.
Tired Melodies

A story focusing on a elite law school fraternity, it follows a week in the lives of a neophyte, a master, and a lawyer alumnus, and crosses the lines of money, power and connections within Manila’s society.
Kapatiran
Short film about a prisoner.
How Wenjiel Spends His Days in Jail

Short about a guy who wants to leave the Philippines.