Jade Francis Castro (born August 21, 1978) is a Filipino film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for writing and directing ''Endo'' (2007), and '' Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington'' (2011).

Early and personal life

Jade Castro was born on August 21, 1978. His mother Ruby, whose name takes after the gemstone of the same name, also named him and his brother Jasper after precious rocks:

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

and

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

. He studied high school at Elizabeth Seton School in

Las Piñas Las Piñas, officially the City of Las Piñas ( fil, Lungsod ng Las Piñas), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 606,293 people. Las Piñas ...

, and graduated with a degree in film from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

in 2000.

Career

Castro began his career as a

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

researcher Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

for

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

, where he also served as

second unit director Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...

in the network's

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Mula sa Puso ''Mula sa Puso'' ( en, From the Heart) is a 1997 Philippine primetime melodrama romance television series originally aired by ABS-CBN from March 10, 1997, to April 9, 1999 (the series ended for 2 years in its long-run) replacing '' Maria Mer ...

'' (1999). He worked as a

script supervisor A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor or script) is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup and the actions of the actors during a scene. The ...

for director Uro de la Cruz. Castro's

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

was the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

titled ''Hopya Love Me Too''. He was reportedly involved in the production of the film '' Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros'' (2005). Castro wrote the screenplays for

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

s ''

D' Anothers ''D' Anothers'' is a 2005 Filipino comedy horror film directed by Joyce Bernal, story by Adolfo Alix Jr., and screenplay by Alix and Raymond Lee. The film tells the story of Hesus Resurreccion (Vhong Navarro), the protagonist who is afraid of ...

'' (2005) and ''

First Day High ''First Day High'' is a 2006 Philippine comedy film starring Geoff Eigenmann, Jason Abalos and Maja Salvador with Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu in their film debut. This film is released under Star Cinema and the movie adaptation of the Rexona Fi ...

'' (2006). He made his breakthrough success with ''Endo'' (2007), a romantic

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

starring

Jason Abalos Jason Joel Jimenez Abalos (born January 14, 1985) is a Filipino actor, host, model, endorser and politician. Acting career Abalos is a former member of Star Magic talents until 2017. He was discovered after joining Star Circle Quest, a realit ...

and

Ina Feleo Catalina Guillen Feleo-Gervasutti (born 29 December 1985), better known as Ina Feleo, is a Filipino actress, figure skater, dancer, and writer. She rose to fame for playing the main antagonist role as Odessa in romantic- horror-drama on GMA Ne ...

. The film—which he wrote, directed and produced—won the Jury Prize at the 3rd Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, and Best Screenplay at the 2007

Gawad Urian The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP, "the Filipino Film Critics") and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Fi ...

. Castro's direction of the romantic comedy ''

My Big Love ''My Big Love'' is a 2008 Philippine romantic comedy film directed by Jade Castro as well as written by Michiko Yamamoto and Theodore Boborol. Starring Sam Milby and Toni Gonzaga together with '' Prinsesa ng Banyera'' lead actress Kristine Hermo ...

'' (2008) marked his transition to mainstream

Philippine cinema The Cinema of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Pelikulang Pilipino'' or ''Sine Pilipino'') began with the introduction of the first moving pictures to the country on August 31, 1897, at the ''Salón de Pertierra'' in Manila. The following year, local ...

. He co-wrote the screenplay with Raymond Lee and

Michiko Yamamoto is the professional name of , a List of Japanese women writers, Japanese writer and poet. Yamamoto has won the Shincho Prize for New Writers, the Akutagawa Prize, and the Izumi Kyoka Prize for Literature. Biography Yamamoto was born in Nakano, ...

, and directed '' Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington'' (2011), a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

-themed

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

comedy horror Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary genre, literary, television genre, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three ty ...

film starring

Martin Escudero Mart Enrico Escudero (born April 11, 1990) is a Filipino actor, model, and television personality. He rose to fame during his stint at the fourth season of '' StarStruck''. He also starred in the indie film '' Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Re ...

. Castro went on to direct '' My Kontrabida Girl'' (2012), ''Juana C. The Movie'' and '' My Lady Boss'' (2013), another gay-themed TV series '' Beki Boxer'' (2014), and '' LSS (Last Song Syndrome)'' (2019), a musically-driven film starring

Gabbi Garcia Gabriella Louise Ortega Lopez (born December 2, 1998), known professionally as Gabbi Garcia (), is a Filipino actress, global endorser, singer, host and vlogger. Currently an artist of the GMA Network, her first acting role was as Nicole Perez ...

Khalil Ramos Khalil Joseph Nepomuceno Ramos (; born January 22, 1996) is a Filipino actor and singer. In July 2011, Ramos won second place on ''Pilipinas Got Talent'', a reality talent show in ABS-CBN and became a recording artist under Star Magic. In 201 ...

and Filipino

indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...

folk pop Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

band

Ben&Ben Ben&Ben (formerly known as The Benjamins) are a folk pop band in the Philippines. Formed in 2015, the band have since been known for their popular hits that include " Pagtingin" and " Lifetime", among others. One of the most popular acts in th ...

wherein Castro is also responsible for its story and

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

. In October 2015, it was announced by director

Jerrold Tarog Jerrold Viacrucis Tarog (; born May 30, 1977) is a Filipino film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and composer. He is best known for directing ''Heneral Luna'' (2015), ''Bliss'' (2017), '' Goyo: The Boy General'' (2018), and the upcomin ...

that he and Castro are working on a screenplay of the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

Arnold Arre Clem Arnold Lawrence Arre (born September 2, 1971) is a Filipino comic book writer, artist and self-taught animator best known for his graphic novels '' The Mythology Class'' (1999) and '' Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat'' (2006). He was born in Metro ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

The Mythology Class ''The Mythology Class'' is a Philippine graphic novel written and illustrated by Arnold Arre. It was originally published by Arre in four issues in 1999, and was collected into a special edition by Adarna House in September 2005. The latest edition ...

''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Jade Filipino film directors Filipino film producers Filipino screenwriters 1978 births Living people Filipino male writers Male screenwriters University of the Philippines alumni 21st-century male writers 21st-century Filipino writers 21st-century screenwriters