Jerrold Tarog

Quality 0.50 · 3 views · Updated 2 months ago

Filipino film director and screenwriter (born 1977)

title: "Jerrold Tarog" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-births", "living-people", "filipino-film-directors", "filipino-film-editors", "filipino-film-score-composers", "university-of-the-philippines-diliman-alumni", "university-of-the-philippines-los-baños-alumni", "people-from-laguna-(province)"] description: "Filipino film director and screenwriter (born 1977)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerrold_Tarog" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Filipino film director and screenwriter (born 1977) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Jerrold Tarog
image	Jerrold Tarog, 2019.jpg
caption	Tarog on November 19, 2019
birth_name	Jerrold Viacrucis Tarog
birth_date
birth_place	Manila, Philippines
death_date
nationality	Filipino
other_names	{{Plainlist
alma_mater
occupation
years_active	2002present
website
::

| name = Jerrold Tarog | image = Jerrold Tarog, 2019.jpg | alt = | caption = Tarog on November 19, 2019 | birth_name = Jerrold Viacrucis Tarog | birth_date = | birth_place = Manila, Philippines | death_date =
| death_place = | nationality = Filipino | other_names = {{Plainlist|

Ramon Ukit
Pats R. Ranyo
Roger "TJ" Ladro
David Barril | alma_mater = | occupation = | years_active = 2002present | website = }}

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) and Goyo: The Boy General (2018). His first feature film was the independently-produced Confessional (2007), followed by Mangatyanan (2009) and Sana Dati (2013). He directed segments for the Shake, Rattle & Roll horror series.

Early life and education

Jerrold Tarog was born in Manila on May 30, 1977, and grew up in Dapdap St. CERIS 1, Canlubang, Laguna. He is the only child of Jose, an Overseas Filipino Worker from Bicol, and Aurora, who hails from Leyte. Tarog learned to play the drum at age six, and the piano at age seven.

Tarog went to elementary school at Mary Help of Christians School (Now Mary Help of Christians College - Salesian Sisters INC. in Canlubang, Calamba City and for highschool was accepted and graduated from the University of the Philippines Rural High School in Los Baños, Laguna for his primary education, and spent two years in the University of the Philippines Los Baños studying agribusiness management for his higher education. After flunking all subjects in the agribusiness course, he changed his major and transferred to the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he was a scholar and graduated from the university's College of Music school with a degree in music composition. He briefly attended the International Academy of Film and Television in Cebu City.

Career

While a student at the UP Diliman, Tarog developed an interest in filmmaking and began taking film classes at the UP Film Center, which is located near the College of Music building. He recalled watching classic films that were directed by Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. After graduation, Tarog played the drums for a heavy metal band.

In his early filmmaking career, Tarog assumed different names on separate occasions. As a screenwriter he was Ramon Ukit, a Filipinized name of his favorite American fiction writer Raymond Carver.

2000s

In 2002, he landed a job as a musical director of the film Agimat starring Bong Revilla Jr. Subsequently, he worked for independent film director Dante Mendoza to compose the score in his films Masahista (2005), Manoro (2006), Tirador and Foster Child (both in 2007).

In 2006 Tarog began his directorial debut in a short film entitled Carpool, which he also wrote and edited. The film was the first installment in what Tarog has dubbed the Camera trilogy, explaining: "It's three films wherein the protagonist in each movie has a camera, and it's about the contrast of life and truth in front of the camera and behind it. The stories of the movies are different from each other, they're not related, and they just have common plot elements." It garnered a total of five awards at the 24th Star Awards for Movies, two of which were given to TarogDigital Movie Director (shared with co-director Ruel Antipuesto) and Digital Original Movie Screenplay. In 2009 he directed the drama film Mangatyanan (also known as The Blood Trail), starring Irma Adlawan, and was the second installment in the Camera trilogy.

2010s

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Jerrold_Tarog,_4_August_2013.jpg" caption="Tarog on August 4, 2013"] ::

In 2010, Tarog directed Senior Year, a coming-of-age romantic drama film which tells the story of ten high school students during their final year in a private school in Manila. The film was partly inspired by Tarog's experience as a music student at the UP Diliman. The same year he was tapped by Regal Entertainment to direct a segment in Shake, Rattle and Roll 12, the twelfth installment in the Shake, Rattle & Roll horror anthology franchise, which marked Tarog's transition to mainstream Philippine cinema;

In 2011, Tarog directed Aswang, a remake of Peque Gallaga's 1992 horror film of the same name, which stars Lovi Poe, Paulo Avelino, and Albie Casiño among others. The same year he directed another segment in the Shake, Rattle and Roll franchise in its thirteenth sequel Shake, Rattle & Roll 13, entitled "Parola". who have also previously worked together in Aswang. The romantic drama film (the last installment in the Camera trilogy

In 2015 Tarog co-wrote, directed, edited and scored Heneral Luna, a historical biographical film which chronicled the leadership of General Antonio Luna of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine–American War. The film was a commercial success in the Philippines, having earned nationwide (about three times its production costs). The film garnered praise for its cinematography, writing, acting and plot, as well as critical acclaim from Filipino professional critics and historians alike. It has since been regarded as the most expensive Philippine historical epic film ever made. The Philippine edition of Esquire considered Heneral Luna as Tarog's breakthrough film due to its successful run.

In 2017, Tarog wrote, directed, edited and scored Bliss, a psychological thriller film starring Iza Calzado. Tarog pitched the idea for the film right after Heneral Lunas Philippine commercial release and was accepted. It took him roughly three to four months to write the screenplay, and three weeks to score it. The film competed in Japan at the 12th Osaka Asian Film Festival from March 3 to 12, 2017, and received critical acclaim during its run. Calzado received the festival's Yakushi Pearl Award for Best Performer.

Prospective films

In December 2016, Tarog announced that he and screenwriter Jade Castro had been developing a screenplay for an adaptation of Arnold Arre's The Mythology Class, to which he said that "hopefully [it] materializes". Owing to its success, he hired Arre and his wife to design the poster for his film Senior Year.

In October 2018, Tarog was announced to replace Erik Matti as the director of Star Cinema's film adaptation of Darna, which is based on the eponymous comic-book superheroine created by Mars Ravelo. The film began principal photography on January 19, 2020.

Personal life

Tarog has cited Se7en, Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs, and Bullets over Broadway as some of his favorite films, He credited Filipino films Crying Ladies and Tanging Yaman as influences in filmmaking, although he had admitted not being a patron of Filipino films as a college student. Tarog is a fan of film scores composed by Alfred Hitchcock's frequent collaborator Bernard Hermann.

Tarog is nonreligious, but has said that he does "trust evidence, reason and the broadening of knowledge".

In regards to his civil status, he has said he is much more "overjoyed" staying single.

Filmography

::data[format=table title="Key"]

	Denotes films that have not yet been released
::

::data[format=table title="Film credits of Tarog"]

Title	Year	Notes	Writer	Editor
2002
2004
2005			Also known as The Masseur
2006			Also known as The Teacher
2006			Also known as Summer Heat
2006			Short film
Directorial debut
2007			Also known as Slingshot
2007
2007			Also known as John-John in France	Foster Child
2007			Directed with Ruel Antipuesto
Score composed with Arodasi
2007			Spin-off short film of Confessional
2009			Also known as The Blood Trail
2010			Also sound designer
2010			Short film
Also sound designer
2010
2010
2010			Segment: "Punerarya"
2011
2011
2011			Segment: "Parola"
2011			Short film
Spin-off for Sana Dati	Eksena sa Gubat
2012			Short film
2012			Documentary film
Also sound designer
2012			Edited with Vincent Sandoval
2012
2012			Composed with Carmina Cuya and Von de Guzman
2013			Also known as If Only
Produced with Jose Mari Abacan and Daphne Chiu	Sana Dati
2013
2014			Segment: "Ulam"
Written with Zig Marasigan; edited with Ben Tolentino	Shake, Rattle & Roll XV
2015
2015
2017			Short film
2017
2017
2018
2019
2023		)	Segment: “Mukbang”
2025
TBD
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table title="Awards and nominations received by Tarog"]

Award-giving body	Date of ceremony	Film	Director	Result
2005	Masahista	Brillante Mendoza	Best Achievement in Aural Orchestration
July 29, 2007	Kadin	Adolfo Alix Jr.	Best Original Music Score
December 1, 2007	Confessional	Jerrold Tarog	Best Director	Shared with co-director Ruel Antipuesto
Best Sound Design		Received as Roger "TJ" Ladro
Best Editor		Received as Pats R. Ranyo
Best Actor		Received as David Barill
2007	Kaleldo	Brillante Mendoza	Best Music
Kubrador
Manoro
2008	Confessional	Jerrold Tarog	Best Director
Best Screenplay		Received as Ramon Ukit
Best Actor		Received as David Barill
Best Editing		Received as Pats R. Ranyo
Best Sound
December 2, 2008	Confessional	Jerrold Tarog	Best Screenplay	Received as Ramon Ukit
Best Editing
May 18, 2011	Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria	Adolf Alix Jr.	Best Music
July 10, 2011	Emir	Chito S. Roño	Best Editing
December 6, 2011	Shake, Rattle & Roll 12: "Punerarya"	Jerrold Tarog	Best Film
Best Achievement in Sound and Aural Orchestration		Shared with sound designer Lambert Casas Jr.
Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria	Remton Zuasola	Best Original Score
June 13, 2012	Niño	Loy Arcenas	Best Music
June 27, 2012	Loy Arcenas	Best Achievement in Sound and Aural Orchestration
August 4, 2013	Sana Dati	Jerrold Tarog	Best Director
Best Editing		Received as Pats R. Ranyo
Best Original Music Score
Best Sound		Received as Roger "TJ" Ladro
September 3, 2013	Aparisyon	Vincent Sandoval	Best Achievement in Editing
February 2014	Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay	Frasco S. Mortiz
December 27, 2015	Buy Now, Die Later		Best Musical Score
March 6, 2016	Heneral Luna	Jerrold Tarog	Movie Director of the Year
Movie Screenwriter of the Year		Shared with co-writers Henry Francia and E.A. Rocha
Movie Editor of the Year
Movie Musical Scorer of the Year
June 22, 2016	Heneral Luna	Jerrold Tarog	Best Director
Best Editing
Best Screenplay		Shared with co-writers Henry Francia and E.A Rocha
Best Editing
Best Music
September 18, 2016	Heneral Luna	Jerrold Tarog	Best Director
Best Screenplay		Shared with co-writers Henry Francia and E.A Rocha
Best Editing
Best Musical Scoring
::

Notes

References

(January 18, 2018). "'Heneral Luna' Does Not Glorify Dictators, Says Jerrold Tarog". [[Esquire (magazine).
(December 7, 2015). "The heroes behind ''Heneral Luna:'' director Jerrold Tarog, and producers Ed Rocha and Nando Ortigas". Asian Dragon Magazine.
(November 1, 2011). "Jerrold Tarog: From indie to mainstream". [[The Philippine Star]].
(December 5, 2016). "Jerrold Tarog". [[Esquire (magazine).
(July 29, 2008). "Jerrold Tarog recalls triumph of ''Confessional'' at Osian Film Fest". Philippine Entertainment Portal.
(November 21, 2015). "Jerrold Tarog From self-taught to successful". [[The Manila Times]].
(August 6, 2012). "Young Critics Circle Film Desk: Winners and Nominees". [[Young Critics Circle]].
(October 1, 2008). "''Confessional''". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
(November 6, 2015}}{{Dead link). "Jerrold Tarog: History in the Making". Status Magazine.
(July 14, 2008). ""Confessional" screens at IndieSine starting August 13". Philippine Entertainment Portal.
(May 27, 2009). "Mangatyanan depicts story of a woman with a tragic past". Philippine Entertainment Portal.
(July 26, 2009). "''Last Supper No. 3'' wins top prize in Cinemalaya". [[GMA News and Public Affairs]].
(March 11, 2011). "Senior blues". [[The Philippine Star]].
(November 2, 2011). "''Aswang'': Bite Me". Spot.ph.
(August 4, 2013). "Movie review: Surprises in Jerrold Tarog's Cinemalaya entry ''Sana Dati''". [[GMA News and Public Affairs]].
(October 11, 2015). "''Heneral Luna'' earns P240 million, breaks even". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
(September 9, 2015). "'Heneral Luna': Hero for the millennial generation". GMA News.
(September 21, 2015). "Review: Hot-headed and heroic ''Heneral Luna''". ABS-CBN News.
(September 9, 2015). "Antonio Luna and his temper". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
(September 30, 2015). "''Heneral Luna'' continues charge, hits P160M". [[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs]].
(March 31, 2017). "Jerrold Tarog chooses to let ''Bliss'' speak for itself". [[Esquire (magazine).
(March 11, 2017). "Jerrold Tarog on his new film, ''Bliss'': "It's way harder than ''Heneral Luna''". [[CNN Philippines]].
(April 10, 2017). "Jerrold Tarog on ''Bliss'', pushing boundaries, and that controversial "X" rating". [[Summit Media]].
(March 28, 2017). "WATCH: Jerrold Tarog Releases Trailer For Psychological Thriller ''Bliss''". [[When In Manila]].
(March 12, 2017). "Iza wins acting award in 2017 Osaka Asian Film Fest". [[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs]].
(October 4, 2015). "''Heneral Luna'' director set to tackle Philippine mythology". [[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs]].
"The Mythology Class". [[Arnold Arre]].
Rappler.com. (October 5, 2018). "Jerrold Tarog takes over as 'Darna' director".
(2020-01-20). "LOOK: Jerrold Tarog teases 'Day 1' of 'Darna'".
(April 13, 2017). "Watch: Director Jerrold Tarog on his favorite Filipino films and the best TV show ever". [[Summit Media]].
(August 17, 2009). "''Mangatyanan'' will be screened at IndieSine, September 16–22". Philippine Entertainment Portal.
(August 16, 2005). "Review: ''The Masseur''". [[Variety (magazine).
(November 22, 2006). "Review: ''The Teacher''". [[Variety (magazine).
"''Kaleldo''". [[Vienna International Film Festival]].
"''Carpool'' (2006)".
"''Confessional'' (2007): Credits".
"''Mangatyanan'' (The Blood Trail) 2009: Credits".
"''Sana Dati'' (2013)".
(September 27, 2015). "Jerrold Tarog–how he went from agriculture to music to ''Shake, Rattle & Roll'' to ''Heneral Luna''". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
"''Kadin''". [[Cinemalaya]].
"''Confessional'' (2007)".
"Astig (2008)".
"''Mangatyanan'' (The Blood Trail) 2009".
"''Sana Dati'' 2013".
"''Confessional'': Interpreting truths through conversations". [[Gawad Urian]].
"Astig (2008)".
(August 18, 2009). "''Mangatyanan'': Forgiving the sins of our parents". [[GMA News and Public Affairs]].
(January 29, 2011). "''Senior Year'' Review". [[Screen Anarchy]].
"''Faculty''". [[Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival]].
(February 25, 2010). "An Original Movie Musical by Chito S. Rono". Click The City.
"''Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria''". [[Vienna International Film Festival]].
"''Niño'': Emerging and Disappearing Cultures Collide". [[Gawad Urian]].
"''Sun Dance'' (2011)".
(May 4, 2012). "''Agusan Marsh Diaries'', a documentary by Jerrold Tarog". Restless Cities.
(October 7, 2012). "''Apparition'' (''Aparisyon''): Busan Review". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
(February 1, 2013). "Luna Awards Citers: 8 More Films to Review". [[Luna Award]].
"''Shake Rattle and Roll Fourteen: The Invasion''". Film Affinity.
"Pagkilala sa Pinakamahusay na Editing ng 2013". Young Critics Circle Film Desk.
(November 30, 2015). "Film Review: ''Heneral Luna''". [[Variety (magazine).
"''Buy Now, Die Later''". TBA.
(February 7, 2017). "'Gregorio del Pilar' short film to hit theaters with ''I'm Drunk I Love You''". [[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs]].
"''I'm Drunk, I Love You''". TBA.
(March 11, 2017). "Jerrold Tarog on his new film, ''Bliss'': "It's way harder than ''Heneral Luna''". [[CNN Philippines]].
(May 18, 2017). "Who will join Paulo Avelino in ''Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral''?". Philippine Entertainment Portal.
(November 15, 2019). "'Write About Love' gets "G" rating from the MTRCB".
(August 6, 2012). "Young Critics Circle Film Desk: Winners and Nominees". [[Young Critics Circle]].
(July 31, 2007). "''Tribu'' is Cinemalaya 2007 best film". [[GMA News and Public Affairs]].
(December 5, 2007). "''Confessional''{{'}}s five-man crew dominates 2007 Cinema One Originals". Philippine Entertainment Portal.
"30th Gawad Urian Nominees (2007)". [[Gawad Urian]].
"31st Gawad Urian Nominees (2008)". [[Gawad Urian]].
"FAMAS Awards 2008 Nominees". Mukamo.
"34th Gawad Urian winners". [[Gawad Urian]].
"FAP Honors 29TH Luna Awards Winners". Film Academy Philippines.
"35th Gawad Urian nominees (2012)". [[Gawad Urian]].
(August 5, 2013). "List of winners of 2013 Cinemalaya indie film fest". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
"Winners: 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival awards night". [[The Philippine Star]].
(March 7, 2016). "Full list: Winners, PMPC Star Awards for Movies 2016". [[Rappler]].
(June 23, 2016). "Full list: Winners, Gawad Urian 2016". [[Rappler]].
(September 18, 2016). "Full list: Winners, Luna Awards 2016". [[Rappler]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::