Jose Lorenzo “Pepe” Diokno is a director, producer, and screenwriter who has made feature films and commercials.

At 21 years old, his debut film, Engkwentro, won the Lion of the Future - Luigi de Laurentiis Award and the Orizzonti Prize at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Following this, he directed two more features — Above the Clouds, which was nominated for Best Asian Feature Film at the 2014 Singapore IFF, and Kapatiran which had its international premiere at the 2016 Karlovy Vary IFF.

In 2016, Pepe ventured into advertising by joining the production house UxS. He has since worked with clients such as Jollibee, P&G, Unilever, Nestlé, Unilab, Samsung, and the Philippine Department of Tourism. His work, notably the Kwentong Jollibee series and Safeguard’s Pabaon sa Buhay, have received international recognition and set viral video records.

Pepe is currently in post-production for Gomburza a historical feature film set to premiere in Philippine cinemas as an official entry to the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival. He is also developing a horror project that has been selected for the 2023 Torino Script Lab in Italy.

Pepe began making short films as a teenager and pursued film studies at the University of the Philippines. He was mentored by screenwriter Ricky Lee and has attended programs such as Produire Au Sud in France, the Asian Project Market in South Korea, and the Berlinale Talent Project Market in Germany.