JT Trinidad is a Manila-born filmmaker based in Laguna, Philippines. A summa cum laude graduate and class valedictorian of the University of the Philippines Film Institute, their work explores the intersection of history and landscapes, viewing them as transformative sites of both aggression and resistance. Focusing on observational filmmaking, their research and creative practice seek to queer futurities by reimagining the archive. At 21, they directed the narrative short, the river that never ends, about a trans care worker. The film won Best Southeast Asian Short Film at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival, had its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, and is currently streaming on The Criterion Collection. Their undergraduate thesis film, Honey, My Love, So Sweet, a coming-of-age story of a genderqueer child in a rundown cinema, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and won Best Short Film at the QCinema International Film Festival. Their works screened in Chicago, Ji.hlava, Tampere, and Winterthur, as well as Binisaya and various community screenings. Alongside their filmmaking, their film essays and reviews have appeared in Sine Liwanag, Sinegang.ph, Sinekultura, and Kino Punch. An alumnus of Locarno Filmmakers Academy, Objectifs Film Incubator, and the US-based nomadic film school Film Futura, Trinidad envisions using cinema as a tool to organize communities.
