KL Carpio

KL Carpio (b. 1994) is a Filipino filmmaker, activist, and critic whose practice spans writing, directing, production, costume design, sound, editing, and producing. His works are rooted in real accounts and guided by a clear moral stance on exploitation, often centering conflict survivors, indigenous peoples, and the Philippines’ National Living Treasures. Carpio began as a film critic for NoInk, ABS-CBN Publishing’s now-defunct digital newsstand, where he honed a sharp sense of storytelling ethics before shifting into filmmaking. His early short, Wakas (2016), became a touchstone for Texture: A Foster Visual Media House, establishing him as a director committed to bold, socially driven narratives while also working as a writer, production designer, wardrobe master, and camera operator. His first works—Fins (2015), If You Dance With Him (2016), and Baon (2019)—shaped his reputation for short-form experimentation rooted in lived experience. Slang/Along (2019), an iFlix Original, marked his first foray into producing and writing for web series, blending youth narratives with his offbeat undertones. As a production and costume designer, Carpio’s signature appeared in Almusal (2020) and Microplastics (2023). The latter, a flagship of QCinema, drew praise for its ambitious art direction and ecological critique. In the mainstream, Carpio worked as the Production Office Coordinator on Erik Matti’s On the Job: The Missing 8 (2022), the MMFF entry Rabid (2021), and Nobody (2021).…