MFA Production Student
Leo is a Filipino-American interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker from Austin, Texas. Their work focuses on the collective imaginative possibilities of filmmaking, using the medium to envision new futures.
Before joining the MFA program, Leo lived in Washington, D.C., where they organized with hospitality workers at Unite Here and facilitated dialogues across rural and urban communities with The Conflict Transformation Lab and The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics. In addition to their filmmaking, they co-directed and wrote "Beyond Binary," a performance piece created from interviews with gender non-conforming students and alumni of Georgetown University; co-created "Paperplay," experimenting with the pre-cinematic form Kamishibai under the direction of Natsu Onoda Powers; and authored "Platonic*," a poetry collection exploring the romance of friendship through genres like choose-your-own-adventure. They hold a dual-degree B.A. from Georgetown University concentrating in neuroscience and the histories of capitalism.
Recent film work includes "Mom and Me" (2023), which explores relationships on the spectrum, bi-cultural parenting, and flourishing in poverty through a parent-child relationship. Currently, they are developing "Dear Future Child," a film centered on letters written by four trans and non-binary individuals to their imagined future children. This film offers an entry point into the diverse experiences of contemplating parenthood outside the gender binary.