Jerrold Tarog

Jerrold Viacrucis Tarog (/dʒɛˈrɒld/; 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.

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.

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. As an editor he was Pats R. Ranyo, an anagram of the character he played in his own film Confessional, Ryan Pastor. As a sound designer he was Roger "TJ" Ladro, an anagram of his complete name. He has called his filmmaking expertise "self-taught".

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). His score for Masahista earned him a Young Critics Circle award for Best Achievement in Aural Orchestration in 2005.

In 2006 Tarog began his directorial debut in a short film entitled Carpool, which he also wrote and edited. The following year he directed his first feature film, Confessional, a political thriller mockumentary shot in Cebu City; he starred in it assuming the name David Barril. 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 Tarog—Digital 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. The film was an entry to the 2009 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival where it won the Best Production Design award.

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; his segment is entitled "Punerarya".