About

Fifteen years of pointing cameras at people.

Portrait of Jethro Patalinghug

I'm a producer, director, and documentary filmmaker based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I make strategic video for companies, brand films for institutions, and long-form documentaries about communities.

My career started in Manila, producing for MTV Philippines, GMA 7, ABC 5, QTV 11, and MYX 23 — a market where you shipped every week or you didn't eat. When I moved to the United States, I took that broadcaster's instinct and applied it to industries I knew nothing about: insurance, climate politics, enterprise software, mapping. Strategic video for CSAA Insurance Group, Bluewolf (an IBM Company), NextGen Climate, Google Street View. I learned that translating complex businesses into two-minute films is a creative act — and the skill that matters most is listening.

Alongside the client work, I make documentaries on my own time. My Revolutionary Mother (2014) premiered at CAAM Fest and won Best Documentary Short at Boston Asian American Film Festival. 50 Years of Fabulous, my feature on the 50-year LGBTQ civil rights movement told through the Imperial Council of San Francisco, was an official selection at Frameline 38 and is now on PBS and JustWatch. My current feature, The Long Rescue, was filmed over ten years in Cebu and premieres in 2027. The director who can spend five years on a drag performer is the same director who can spend a Tuesday with a logistics manager at an insurance company. Same practice. Same discipline.


Selected credits.

  • 2024The Long Rescue — fellowships

    IDFA Producers Connection · Gotham Week · FIFDH Impact Days

  • 2022The Long Rescue — fellowships

    DOC NYC Storytelling Incubator · Film Independent CNN Docu-Series Intensive

  • 2021The Long Rescue — awards

    Winner · Chicago Pitch & Movies That Matter

  • 2017Bluewolf / IBM — Dreamforce

    Multi-team coverage; 100+ enterprise marketing videos; supported a $4M revenue launch

  • CSAA Insurance Group × Lyft

    Producer / Director · product-launch film · 20% conversion

  • Google Maps Street View

    Producer / Director / Shooter / Editor · training film for Street View operators

  • 50 Years of Fabulous — feature documentary

    Director / Producer · Frameline 38, QDocs 2018 Opening Film, 20+ festivals, PBS, JustWatch

  • 2016BAVC National MediaMaker Fellowship

    Fellow · #MyNameIs

  • 2014My Revolutionary Mother — documentary short

    Director / Producer / Editor · CAAM Fest · Best Documentary Short, BAAFF 2015 · Amazon

  • 2004–2014Philippine broadcast television

    MTV Philippines, GMA 7, ABC 5, QTV 11, MYX 23

Festivals & recognition.

Frameline 38 QDocs DOC NYC IDFA The Gotham Film Independent BAVC