Antoinette Jadaone: Bridging worlds with blockbusters
Last month, as Antoinette Jadaone was accepting the Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation 14 Plus category at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival for “Sunshine,” a film that she wrote and directed, the movie “Ex Ex Lovers,” which she co-wrote and produced, was also showing in almost 200 theaters in the Philippines.
Such is her power as a filmmaker—she’s able to straddle the two different worlds of commercial movies and art films, earning both box-office success and critical acclaim.
Jadaone has always loved movies—“pelikula,” as she likes to say. We were sitting in Basta, a cafe in Quezon City that she and a few friends opened last month—the fruition of another longtime dream.
She grew up watching movies with her family and it was also her family who first put a video camera in her hands—a Hi8 camera she used to shoot their gatherings.
Fans know the story: After studying Film at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Jadaone told director Joyce Bernal that she wanted to work with her and Bernal gave her her break—as a script continuity supervisor. To supplement the meager income from working in film, Jadaone would juggle the role with other “raket,” at one point even working at The Picture Company, trying to make babies smile as the photographers took pictures of them.
Standards for excellence
She learned a lot from Bernal and Irene Villamor during those early years. “Yung standards for excellence, pagmamahal sa pelikula, work ethic, sa kanila ko natutunan ‘yun. The people you work with are so important. Kasi nakakahawa ‘yung standards for excellence, pero nakakahawa din ‘yung mediocrity. I got lucky in that regard.”
She added, “I never felt like I was a woman in a male-dominated industry. You’d see Direk Joyce and Irene on set, grabe ‘yung command nila. Para silang seven feet tall. Pag ‘yung vision nila sinabi nila, susunod talaga lahat.”
Another woman she looks up to is her mom. “A lot of the things I’ve done and still do are because she molded me into the kind of person who takes no bullshit from anyone. Tinuruan nya ako tumawad sa Divisoria, paano hindi maloko ng timbangan sa palengke… Siya din nagturo sa akin magsulat. The way my parents raised me continues to resonate in who I am, how I work, and how I deal with people.”
For years, she submitted screenplays to film festivals and the Palanca Awards. Finally, in 2011, she got to direct her first film: “Six Degrees of Lilia Cuntapay,” a mockumentary that reflected her experiences as a production assistant and her observations about how the industry treated no-name actors.
But the P1 million grant wasn’t enough for her to complete the film. “Nangutang ako,” she confessed. “After five years ko pa siya nabayaran, kinayod ko ‘yun.”
The movie would go on to win a lot of awards at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival and put her name in the spotlight. But, Jadaone said, “Sobrang hirap, after ko gawin ‘yun, sabi ko last ko na ‘to.”
Metric of success
But it wasn’t her last. She would make more films, and in 2014, she won a Palanca Award for her screenplay “That Thing Called Tadhana” which also made it to Cinema One Originals.
It was a surprise box-office hit. The rom-com featuring Angelica Panganiban and JM de Guzman charmed audiences and critics, packed theaters like crazy, and sent to Sagada hordes of tourists eager to follow the footsteps of the film’s characters.
“My metric of success was ‘yung walang maupuan, ‘yung tumatawa ang buong sinehan. Naramdaman ko ‘yun sa ‘That Thing Called Tadhana.’”
She watched the film many times in the cinemas. “Gusto ko makita alin ‘yung parts ng film na nag-land, alin ‘yung effective, saan sila natatawa, para kilala ko ‘yung audience ko.”
The projects kept coming in, including her first TV series, the wildly successful “On the Wings of Love” starring James Reid and Nadine Lustre. “Tuloy-tuloy na, wala nang pahinga,” she said.
The money was good and the projects never-ending, but Jadaone was exhausted. “Hindi physical pagod, pagod ng kaluluwa and mentally,” she said.
She begged for some time off. “I used that time to find who I really am as a filmmaker.”
She made her comeback with “Love You to the Stars and Back.” “Fresh start siya… It was me again.”
It was also in 2017 that she, her longtime partner and fellow filmmaker Dan Villegas, and Reign Anne De Guzman started their own production company, Project 8 Projects.
The girl who used to dream of making movies is now in the position to help other filmmakers make their dreams come true.
International stage
Like Jaime Pacena II, the writer and director of “Kono Basho,” who just won Best Director at Cinemalaya.
Or Carl Joseph Papa, whose “Iti Mapukpukaw (The Missing)” has gone on to win hearts and awards at so many film festivals around the world and even became the Philippines’ official entry to the Oscars for Best International Feature Film.
Project 8 Projects’ “Replacing Chef Chico,” which Jadaone created, made history as the first Filipino-produced Netflix Original Series.
“Now, we get to do the films we want to do, with the people we want to do it with. Mas may ownership,” she said.
They also bring their films to the international stage. “I think it’s about time the world sees how talented Filipino filmmakers are, how rich our stories are and our storytelling is.”
One remarkable thing about Jadaone is how her films, even her rom-coms, manage to be socially relevant and tackle serious issues. “I grew up around people who care—about the country, about society… Cinema is a powerful tool. It is immortal, it will be there long after we’re gone. So it’s just right that you take time to weave the stories according to what you believe in as a filmmaker and as a person.”
For Villegas, “She’s the best. I mean, there are talented people and there are hardworking people. She’s both. I count myself lucky that I had front-row seats to see an artist of her caliber succeed.
“Antoinette is an inspiration every day. Her focus and dedication to whatever she does is just wonderful. Plus who wouldn’t want to work with your crush?”
Director Rod Singh started working with Jadaone on “Drag Den.” “I like working with Tonet because she knows how to foster creatives—especially women… I started knowing her as a fan of her movies. Now, I’m still her biggest fan, but also her friend. I wish every young creative would meet and have their own Tonet—a woman of power who will be your biggest enabler.”
It all comes from one place, said Jadaone. “I think all my pursuits, whether creative or not—pelikula, Witty Saves the World, Project 8 Projects, Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast, this coffee shop—it should always be done with love. Kapag ang isang bagay minamahal mo, babalik siya talaga sa’yo. That’s always been my philosophy. Do everything with love.”
