Petersen Vargas
Filipino filmmaker
Petersen Vargas
Petersen Vargas in 2017
Born Hil Petersen Miranda Vargas
(1992-08-02 ) August 2, 1992 (age 32) [ 1] Alma mater University of the Philippines Occupation Film director Years active 2015–present
Hil Petersen Miranda Vargas (born August 2, 1992)[ 1] is a Filipino filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Cinema One Originals Best Picture winner 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten (2016) and the web series Hello Stranger (2020).[ 2]
Early life and education
Vargas was born and raised in Pampanga , Philippines .[ 3] Coming from a family of lawyers, he majored in Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman , but eventually switched to film after one year.[ 4] As a student in university Vargas's work in short films had attracted buzz among his peers and local indie movie enthusiasts.[ 5] He graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines Film Institute in 2014.[ 6]
Career
Vargas first received notice with his short film Lisyun qng Geografia , which won the Best Direction award at the 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in 2015.[ 7] The following year, at the age of 24, Vargas directed his debut feature 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten (2016), which was written by fellow Kampampagan filmmaker Jason Paul Laxamana .[ 8] [ 9] The film starred Khalil Ramos , Ethan Salvador, and was the film debut of Jameson Blake .[ 10] The film premiered at the Cinema One Originals film festival, where it won Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Actor (for Blake).[ 11]
In January 2019 Vargas was selected to be a part of the Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC), a script and development lab for Southeast Asian filmmakers.[ 12] He would go on to win the lab's grand prize, the SEAFIC Award.[ 13] The prize will go towards the production of Vargas's second feature, a road movie tentatively titled Some Nights I Feel Like Walking , to be produced by Alemberg Ang and Jade Castro .[ 14] The film was also selected to be a part of the Locarno Film Festival 's Open Doors Hub.[ 15] Later in the year, the Vargas-directed music video of Nadine Lustre 's single St4y Up won Music Video of the Year at the Myx Music Awards 2019 .
In 2020, Vargas directed the web series Hello Stranger , starring Tony Labrusca and JC Alcantara.[ 16] In the same year, Some Nights I Feel Like Walking was selected to be a part of the 16th edition of the Cinéfondation 's Atelier, a program under the auspices of the Cannes Film Festival which aims to encourage a new generation of filmmakers.[ 17] [ 18] Vargas also directed the short film How to Die Young in Manila (2020), which was spun off from his yet to be released second feature.[ 19] [ 20] The film had its world premiere at the 25th Busan International Film Festival and was later screened at the Singapore International Film Festival .[ 21] [ 22]
Aside from his work directing films, Vargas has also directed music videos, commercials, and has been a creative producer for the movie production company T-Rex Entertainment.[ 23]
Filmography
Feature films
Short films
Digital series
Music videos
References
^ a b "Films directed by Petersen Vargas" . Letterboxd . Retrieved October 21, 2024 .
^ Casal, Chang (July 1, 2020). "Director Petersen Vargas wants to redefine BL for Filipinos" . CNN Philippines . Archived from the original on July 17, 2020.
^ "2018 Alumni" . Asian Film Academy .
^ Galeon, Dom (July 29, 2018). "Young Forever" . Manila Bulletin .
^ "The Spectacular Now" . Scout Magazine. November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "Reel deals" . The Philippine Star . March 3, 2016.
^ Jaucian, Don (October 15, 2015). "The heart is a lonely hunter" . The Philippine Star .
^ Buenaventura, Marga (November 18, 2016). "Forget me not" . The Philippine Star . Retrieved August 31, 2021 .
^ Fernandez, Denise (November 14, 2016). "The Spectacular Now" . Scout Magazine. Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ Moran, Romeo (November 16, 2016). "These Kids Are Way Too Cool" . Scout Magazine. Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ "FULL LIST: Winners, Cinema One Originals Film Festival 2016" . Rappler . November 20, 2016.
^ Frater, Patrick (January 31, 2019). " 'Third Wife' Director Ash Mayfair Joins SE Asia Fiction Film Lab" . Variety .
^ Shackleton, Liz (October 30, 2019). "Petersen Vargas' 'Some Nights I Feel Like Walking' wins SEAFIC Award" . Screen Daily .
^ Scott, Mathew (November 5, 2019). "Philippine Director Petersen Vargas' Next Feature Lands Southeast Asian Fiction Film Lab Prize" . The Hollywood Reporter .
^ "Local film project picked for Switzerland film co-production program" . Manila Standard . June 3, 2019.
^ "Our best Filipino queer shows of 2020" . CNN Philippines . December 30, 2020. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020.
^ Goodfellow, Melanie (March 9, 2020). "Cinéfondation's Atelier unveils 2020 selection" . Screen Daily .
^ "L'Atelier 2021" . Cannes Film Festival . June 30, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021 .
^ Asilo, Rito (December 18, 2020). "Thematic pertinence, technical skill merge in Singapore film fest's PH entries" . The Philippine Daily Inquirer .
^ Galang, Jelou. "Queer identity and politics take place in 'How to Die Young in Manila' " . SCOUT Magazine . Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "How To Die Young in Manila" . Singapore International Film Festival . Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "How To Die Young in Manila" . Busan International Film Festival . Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "Young Filipino creative professionals gather together on October 12 for this year's SCOUT Creative Talk" . Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 11, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ "Berlinale Talents Project - Sakaling Hindi Makarating" . Berlinale Talents . Retrieved August 24, 2021 .
^ "Berlinale Talents Project - 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten" . Berlinale Talents . Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "ABS-CBN Films, T-REX Entertainment ink co-production agreement" . CinemaBravo . October 23, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2021 .
^ Emocling, Oliver (February 10, 2021). "Lessons on storytelling from "Hello Stranger: The Movie" director Dwein Baltazar" . CNN Philippines . Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021 .
^ "EXCLUSIVE: First Movie Still for 'An Inconvenient Love' released" . Star Cinema. August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022 .
^ "Some Nights I Feel Like Walking" . Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab . Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ Flora, Ian (June 15, 2013). "Kapampangan films nominated in 'Gawad Urian' " . SunStar . Retrieved August 25, 2021 .
^ Flora, Ian (February 10, 2014). "9 Pampango films to be featured in Cagayan de Oro film festival" . SunStar . Retrieved August 25, 2021 .
^ Salita, Bryan (June 26, 2019). "5 Pinoy shorts to binge for Pride Month" . Rappler . Retrieved August 25, 2021 .
^ Amarille, Bea (October 2, 2019). "Designer Carl Jan Cruz, director Petersen Vargan, and more artists will lead this year's Scout Creative Talks" . Noli Soli . Retrieved August 25, 2021 .
^ "Petersen Vargas - Scout Magazine" . Scout Magazine. Retrieved August 25, 2021 .
^ "Berlinale Talents Project - How to Die Young in Manila" . Berlinale Talents . Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "Rappler Talk Entertainment: BL and queer media with 'Hanging Out' star Jox Gonzales and director Petersen Vargas" . Rappler . April 30, 2020.
^ "Berlinale Talents Project - Hello Stranger" . Berlinale Talents . Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "Watch Rusty Machines' 'What Went Wrong' Video, But Not If You're Queasy" . Billboard . July 19, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2021 .
^ "James Reid and Nadine Lustre live it up in The Life – watch" . Bandwagon Asia . December 17, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2021 .
^ "WATCH: Nadine Lustre's new 'St4y Up' music video" . Rappler . January 26, 2018.
External links