Michele Josue (Director, Producer, Lead Editor)

Michele Josue is an Emmy award-winning Filipino filmmaker. Her debut MATT SHEPARD IS A FRIEND OF MINE is the winner of several film festivals worldwide and a 2016 Daytime Emmy Award. Michele directed HAPPY JAIL, the Netflix Original documentary series about the world-famous Filipino “Dancing Inmates” that won the 2021 Silver Telly Award for Series Documentary for Television. Michele’s films have screened at film festivals including IDFA, DOC NYC, Mill Valley, Cleveland International and at venues including the Washington National Cathedral and U.S. Department of State. Recent works include the multi award-winning feature documentary NURSE UNSEEN about our unsung Filipino American nurses, for which Michele was selected as a 2021 Film Independent Fast Track Fellow, and the upcoming FOOD ROOTS, premiering at the Nashville, Newport Beach, and Chicago International Film Festivals.

In 2022, Michele was selected by the Philippine Embassy and the Ayala Foundation as a delegate of the Filipino Young Leaders Program, a network of high-performing, next-generation leaders who advance the Philippines and the Filipino people through their advocacy and expertise in various industries. Michele has served as a juror at several film festivals and has participated as a speaker and guest on various film panels, podcasts, and shows including “The View.” Her essays have been featured in Indiewire, The Huffington Post, and The New York Times Upfront.

Carlo Velayo (Producer) is a 2021 Berlinale VFF Talent Highlight Awardee, a Film Independent Spirit Award-nominated Producer and was the inaugural SFFILM New American Fellow in 2018. He has produced two narrative features: Isabel Sandoval’s LINGUA FRANCA (Venice Days 2019); which was released in North America through Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY and was recently nominated for the Film Independent John Cassavetes Award, and Jessica M. Thompson’s THE LIGHT OF THE MOON (2017 SXSW Audience Award for Narrative Feature). He was Senior Producer on Michele Josue’s Netflix Original documentary series, HAPPY JAIL (2019) and was an Associate Producer on Cheryl Furjanic’s Emmy-nominated documentary feature, BACK ON BOARD: GREG LOUGANIS (2014). Carlo is the producer of Isabel Sandoval’s TROPICAL GOTHIC and has secured the option to adapt Carlos Bulosan’s autobiographical novel, AMERICA IS IN THE HEART, into a limited TV series. Carlo is thrilled to be collaborating again with Michele Josue on NURSE UNSEEN.

Joe Arciaga, RN BSN PHN (Producer) is a Filipino-American Nurse, Writer and Filmmaker. A proud USC BSN Alumnus and US Army Desert Storm veteran, Joe has held several nurse leader positions during his 25-year nursing career. He is one of the founders of the Filipino- American Chamber of Commerce, Greater Los Angeles. He is also one of the producers of “Your Vote Matters 2 Me,” a non-partisan public service online series to get out the Asian and Filipino-American vote. Joe has also produced some short films in the Los Angeles area.

Jo Koy (Executive Producer)

As one of today’s premiere stand-up comics Jo Koy has come a long way from his modest beginnings performing at a Las Vegas coffee house. The comedian, who pulls inspiration from his family, specifically his son, sells-out arenas and theaters across the world.

In 2017, Koy broke a record for the most tickets sold by a single artist at 23,000 tickets and 11 sold-out shows at The Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu. In response, the mayor’s office in Honolulu proclaimed November 24th as “Jo Koy Day.” The comedian continued his record breaking streak by being the only comedian to sell out 6 shows at The Warfield in San Francisco. He then broke the attendance record at Club Regent Event Centre in Winnipeg with 4 sold-out shows. In 2019, Koy sold-out 5 shows at the San Diego Civic Theatre, the most consecutive sold-out shows for a comedian. He recently became the only comedian to sell 17,000+ tickets, over 30 shows (in one year) at the Brea Improv.

He was given the prestigious “Stand-Up Comedian Of The Year” award at the 2018 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He has had four highly rated and successful comedy specials on Comedy Central and Netflix. His 2019 Netflix special, ​Comin’ In Hot is currently streaming world-wide. Koy is on a mission to educate the masses on how to raise a millennial, the intricacies of Filipino traditions, and more!

Jhett Tolentino (Executive Producer) is a Filipino-American multi-award-winning filmmaker and theater producer. Born, raised and educated in the Philippines, he debuted on Broadway in 2013 as producer of VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE starring Sigourney Weaver. It won Best Play at the 67th Tony Awards. The following year, he produced the 2014 Best Musical A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER and the Best Play Revival A RAISIN IN THE SUN with Denzel Washington. He also produced THE COLOR PURPLE cast album recording that featured Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson and Danielle Brooks. It won the 59th GRAMMY Awards for Best Musical Theater Album. After 19 theatrical productions in 7 years, he ventured into filmmaking with his autobiographical documentary LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT. In 2019, he produced Isabel Sandoval's feature film LINGUA FRANCA, which premiered at the 76th Venice Film Festival. It was nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. It is now streaming on Netflix. Jhett is making his feature directorial debut in the upcoming rom-com ASIAN PERSUASION starring Dante Basco and Toni Gonzaga.

Jeffrey Schneider (Director of Photography) is a Los Angeles based Director of Photography with over 15 years of experience filming documentaries, television shows, commercials, and feature films. His work has appeared on Showtime, ESPN, MTV, the History Channel, as well as at festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, South by Southwest, Berlin, and SIFF. Commercially he has worked with brands including Google, Dior, Nike, Microsoft, Canon and Christian Louboutin. Jeffrey has a BA in Film and Digital Media from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and studied Documentary Filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. Jeffrey believes in the power of visual storytelling to make a social and personal impact.

Marcos Durian (Director of Photography) is a Filipino-American Cinematographer, a visual storyteller consumed with telling creative, compelling and worldly stories. He has worked as a freelance cinematographer for the past 11 years on narrative, commercial and music video projects in the US and internationally. Always in pursuit of self discovery, he is driven by the journey and has a strong desire to tell stories which reflect and represent the diverse world we live in. He is inspired by the power of image and story and wants people to feel something from the images he creates, feel the struggle, the pain, the happiness, and the human emotion that binds us. His work has won awards from numerous festivals world wide and is a recipient of the 2019 Emerging Cinematographers Award presented by the International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600).

Scott Ellerbrook (Editor) is an Editor based in Los Angeles. He has worked in post-production on many various projects: commercial spots, immersive experience media, and documentary work. His recent documentary experience includes HAPPY JAIL (Netflix) as editor, and FAKE FAMOUS (HBO) as assistant editor.

Nathan Matthew David (Composer) is a Peabody Award-winning Filipino-American composer. Currently, he is the composer for Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s hit show YOUNG ROCK on NBC. In 2021, he was Emmy-nominated for his work on the HBO documentary UNDER THE GRAPEFRUIT TREE. His synthesis work can be heard on Christopher Nolan’s TENET and he composed additional music for the most recent season of THE MANDALORIAN. Born to Filipinx immigrants, his family taught him music at a young age. His curiosity would lead him to play in bands and to study film scoring at USC’s prestigious Scoring For Motion Pictures and Television program. He would go on to be mentored by and collaborate with Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Goransson (BLACK PANTHER) and Theodore Shapiro (BOMBSHELL). In addition to film music, he is also writing an album combining indigenous Filipinx instruments and electronics.

Anna Josue (Archival Producer, Co-Producer) is a Filipino-American entrepreneur and travel enthusiast. Anna-Marie is the Associate Producer of the Emmy-award winning documentary film MATT SHEPARD IS A FRIEND OF MINE and hit Netflix original documentary series HAPPY JAIL. With a B.A. in Communication & Business-Economics from Lewis & Clark College, Anna-Marie is a versatile trouble-shooter and skilled at anticipating challenges. When she’s not working on film projects, Anna-Marie is also a food buyer for a Filipino food importer and distributor. She also co-owns Para Sa’Yo, a small, curated gift box company that features all Filipinx artists and brands. Whether through Filipinx gifts, food, or film, Anna-Marie is passionate about sharing her Filipino culture and supporting the Filipino community and she is eager to share the stories of her Filipino-American community through film.

Arlyn Dela Pena, RN MSN (Co-Producer) is a Filipino-American US Army Veteran, Registered Nurse, Producer, Actress, Filmmaker. Arlyn graduated from Washington State University with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, Army Nurse Corps Officer, into the United States Army. She worked as a Trauma/Surgical Intensive Care Unit nurse and obtained the national board certification for critical care registered nurses (CCRN) before deployment to Iraq. Arlyn held various leadership positions in management and mentorship in the Army. She graduated from Grand Canyon University with her Masters of Science in Nursing. Arlyn served in the military for almost a decade before transitioning into filmmaking. Arlyn is an actress who is best known for the USAA Made for Kate national commercial. Arlyn held a leadership position in FilAm Creative, a nonprofit Filipino-American organization promoting a more culturally integrated and diverse entertainment industry. Arlyn is based out of Hawaii and Los Angeles.