Meet the 7 Filipinos invited to the U.S. film academy

Alexa Villano

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Meet the 7 Filipinos invited to the U.S. film academy
The 7 are among those invited to be part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as its new members

MANILA, Philippines — The Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences released the list of names of people they’ve invited to be part of the organization. Among those invited are filmmakers and animators from the Philippines or have Filipino roots.

The 7 Filipinos —Ditsi Carolino, Baby Ruth Villarama, PJ Raval, Josie Trinidad, Bobby Pontillas, Trevor Jimenez, and Lisa Valencia-Svensson have been recognized for their contribution in the international scene.

Here’s a brief background on their work, which have gotten recognition worldwide.

Ditsi Carolino, documentarist

Photo from Facebook/Ditsi Carolino

Carolino is a director and producer whose films tackle basic human rights. Among her works include BunsoHindered Land, and Minsan Lang Sila Bata. According to her IMDb profile, Carolino graduated with a degree in Sociology at the University of the Philippines. 

Baby Ruth Villarama, documentarist

 Photo from Facebook/Baby Ruth Villarama

Villarama is known for documentaries such as Sunday Beauty Queen, which was filmed in Hong Kong and followed Filipino OFWs in beauty contest; and Jazz In Love, a 2013 documentary narrating the story of a young man named Jazz, who is closeted from his parents and plans to marry in his boyfriend in Germany.

Sunday Beauty Queen was the first documentary to join the Metro Manila Film Festival in 2016. It won Best Picture.

Josie Trinidad, Head of Story for Disney Animation

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Philippines

Josie Trinidad is the Head of Story for Disney Animation, which means she makes sure that stories are translated visually onscreen. 

She’s worked on Zootopia, Tangled, The Princess and The Frog, Wreck-It-Ralph, and most recently, Ralph Breaks The Internet. 

PJ Raval, director and cinematographer

 

Raval is a Filipino-American director and cinematographer who worked with producer Lisa Valencia-Svensson for the documentary Call Her Ganda. Other works of Raval include Before You Know It, and Trinidad.

Aside from the documentaries, Raval has also worked on music videos and has done cinematography for shot films, narrative features, art installations, and commercials.

Lisa Valencia-Svensson, producer

Producer Lisa Valencia-Svensson Photo by Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images/AFP

Valencia-Svensson is an Emmy-award winning documentary producer and the head of operations of Multitude Films based in Toronto, Canada. She produced PJ Raval’s Call Her Ganda, and co-produced Always in Season, which made its debut at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Competition.

Valencia-Svensson also produced her first full-length documentary Herman’s House back in 2012, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. Her other documentary, Migrant Dreams won the Canadian Hillman Prize and was a Top 10 Audience Favorite.

Bobby Pontillas, director, writer, and animator

Bobby Pontillas Photoby Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images/AFP

Pontillas worked with Disney as animator for Frozen and Zootopia. He also helped in Rio. Early this year, Pontillas received an Academy nomination for his short film One Small Step under Taiko Studios.  

Trevor Jimenez, animator, writer, and director

Trevor Jimenez. Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP

Jimenez has worked on films such as Rio, Coco, Finding Dory, and Weekends. Like Pontillas ,Jimenez, who is from Canada earned an Academy nomination for his short film Weekends in this year’s Oscars.

— Rappler.com 

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Alexa Villano

Alexa is one of Rappler's Lifestyle and Entertainment reporters, covering local entertainment news to a wide range of topics from beauty pageants to reality shows.