How can someone so young do a lot of things at once? 21-year-old Arts and Design Senior High School student, Jaymes Niño Nudalo set a prime example of pursuing various endeavors in harmony as he maneuvers through the rugged terrains of corporate work, academics, filmmaking, performing arts, and events management.
My core is to deliver a story that captivates not just a trend but evokes a call to action.
Jaymes Nudalo
Young Cebuano Filmmaker
Jaymes balances being a full-time student, process executive at a BPO company, actor/filmmaker, and freelance host
As a young creative, his humble milestones were honed through small gigs and shows in high school. Eventually, the universe conspired to connect him with other passionate dreamers who also wanted to translate their shared vision into reality. With their chemistry as an imaginative powerhouse, Jaymes steered the wheel as an emerging filmmaker, and the cinematic journey of then-formed White Cat Productions began.
While starting off as a fun venture, Jaymes saw the purpose of his creations as a potential game-changer in the typical narrative of mainstream Philippine films. Drawing heavily on underrated realms of mundane reality, his works lean on stories that highlight the values of underrepresented spaces of the community.
“My core is to deliver a story that captivates not just a trend but evokes a call to action,” said Jaymes.
The brilliant minds behind the White Cat Productions
With the general lack of support in the creatives industry, Jaymes shared how limited funding curtails the maximum potential of their production team’s artistic visions. Banking on this financial struggle, he expressed how their resourcefulness and commitment to the entire process still make their undertakings fruitful against the odds.
Despite being neophytes in the field, White Cat Productions embarked on various competitions and bagged commendable feats such as their entry, “Pokpok” in the 2023 Fiesta Kucha Cebu 48-Hour Film Festival where Jaymes himself won as Best Actor while being the director as well. The same group also won Best Film for their entry “Campo Siete” in the 2023 SWU Sinemaniacs Film Fest where Jaymes also played as an actor.
“Both film fests helped us grow as artists with the impact of networking. We always remind ourselves that as newbies in the industry, we may not be receiving awards in every film fest we join, but we’re after the experience,” added Jaymes.
White Cat Productions bag awards in the 2023 Fiesta Kucha Cebu 48-Hour Film Festival and 2023 SWU Sinemaniacs Film Fest
As their production team gained enough traction from the public, they began being commissioned for short and long-form video production services where they get to continuously hone and exercise their skills in conceptualization, storyboarding, and strategic tactics in coming up with quality projects.
While mainstream films continue to be Manila-centric, homegrown filmmakers like Jaymes are finding their way toward reviving the once-booming piece of Cebuano’s identity. As the drought of regional cinema continues, Jaymes believes in the distinct talents that Cebuanos can offer not only to the Philippines but to the world.
“We’ve got a whole new set of young breeds with a burning passion to bring new things on the big screen,” he added.
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