Tim Rone Villanueva
Directing
Biography
TIM RONE VILLANUEVA is an independent Filipino writer, director, and producer from Kawit, Cavite. He is known for his 2017 short film Santa Nena!, a Benilde film capstone project that won the 2018 CineFilipino Best Student Short Film. Working with his filmmaker friends, he produced acclaimed short films such as How to Dress a Mother-naked? (2018), My Mother’s Bicycle (2021), The Gossips of Cicadidae (2021), #bagets (2023), and The Longer I Wait (2024). His 10-minute theater play Mga Nakasusuyang Putahe was staged in the 2017 Short + Sweet Theatre Festival Manila and Shorts & Briefs 9 Theater Festival. It was lauded by Rappler as one of the Best Filipino Theater Plays of 2023. His upcoming films are the short film Santa Isabel!, which is part of his Santa Cinematic Universe, and Child No. 82, his full-length directorial debut premiering at Cinemalaya 2025. Currently, he is now a part-time faculty member at St. Dominic College of Asia, under the Communication and Multimedia Arts Program. Through his fellowship and work at North Luzon Cinema Guild, he supports filmmakers, storytellers, cultural workers, and human rights advocates in the diverse regions of the Philippines.
Known For
After an old wank video of him goes viral on social media, a young food delivery rider in Manila attempts to reclaim his body from societal consumption.
#teen
At a wake, a persevering high school student must prove that he is the 82nd child of the Philippines’ biggest action-fantasy movie star in the hopes of seeing his late father one last time.
Child No. 82
Santa Nena, a patron saint statue that springs to life every night, suddenly falls in love with a teenager even though God forbids her.
Saint Nena!
A lonely queer soul in their early sixties, long devoted to their family’s well-being, is stirred to face the love they once turned away from after a chance encounter at a cemetery.
My Dearest Darling
A short film about a man who struggles with his sexuality.
Under the Crescent Moon
At a family-run restaurant in Ilocos, Jorge, a privileged young man, is forced to work alongside Kiko, a street-smart newcomer hired by Jorge's grandfather, Tino, a retired sakada. When Tino suddenly dies, the two discover a hidden cigar box filled with unsent letters and photographs that reveal a decades-old love story between Tino and his best friend, Bong - a bond shaped by migration, forgetting, and sacrifice. As Jorge and Kiko piece together this lost history, their own relationship begins to shift. Set across generations and rooted in Ilokano culture, the series is a quiet exploration of class, intimacy, and the legacies we inherit - and choose to carry forward.
All the Things I Leave You
Klaudia, a “live show” performer in a whore-house, was rented by Javier, a 12-year old millionaire, to be his mother for a week. Hesitant at first, Klaudia learns to adapt Javier in her world but everything suddenly change when Javier awakes the ghost of Klaudia’s dark past.
Paano Bihisan Ang Isang Ina?
After accidentally allowing their son to go on an out of the country trip with his girlfriend, two young and conservative parents compose their sanity knowing that their drunk son is forcec to sleep in a single bed.