Pedring Lopez
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Pedring A. Lopez - Director, Producer and Screenwriter
Pedring A. Lopez is an award-winning Filipino filmmaker whose visceral, grounded approach to genre cinema has positioned him as one of Southeast Asia's most exciting writer-directors. Known for fusing action, horror, and regional identity into gripping narratives, Lopez continues to expand his reach internationally while staying true to his indie filmmaking roots.
Early Work and Influences Lopez began his directorial career with the horror film Binhi (The Seed), followed by the found-footage thriller Darkroom and the pandemic-shot Byernes Santo. With an eye for cinematic tension and physical storytelling, he quickly built a reputation for practical effects, in-camera action, and stylized handheld cinematography. His aesthetic draws from the kinetic energy of 1980s action films, Japanese horror, and the Southeast Asian underworld-creating a uniquely textured voice in regional cinema.
Breakout Success and Global Expansion His breakthrough came with Nilalang (2015), a Filipino-Japanese action-horror hybrid starring Maria Ozawa, which garnered international attention for its genre fusion and sleek visuals. This was followed by Maria (2019), a Netflix Original film that catapulted Lopez to global audiences. Maria was lauded for its tightly choreographed action and stark visual storytelling, and remains a standout in Filipino action cinema.
Following Maria, Lopez produced and directed the 8-part prison crime saga Sellblock (2024), a high-octane series starring Jericho Rosales, and the late Jaclyn Jose, and others. The show has been picked up for international distribution by Blue Fox Entertainment and helped solidify Lopez as a show runner capable of handling large-scale serialized storytelling.
New Projects His next feature is Shadow Transit, a gritty Southeast Asian action noir set in the underbelly of Manila and Hong Kong. The film stars Yoshi Sudarso and UK-based singer-actress Qymira, and follows a grieving photojournalist who gets entangled with a rogue DJ and a Southeast Asian crime network. Co-produced with ACT3 Hong Kong and BlackOps Studios Asia, Shadow Transit is being shot with a stripped-down, handheld style-capturing the humid tension and relentless pacing of a city on edge. It marks Lopez's return to a more intimate, personal filmmaking approach after the scale of Sellblock.
Upcoming: JI and Blood Passage JI is a transnational Southeast Asian action film set across Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Co-produced with Asia Media Alliance, VeryTay Media, and BlackOps Studios Asia, JI explores the intersections of violence, and regional gang politics.
Following that, Lopez will begin Blood Passage, his most ambitious horror-action hybrid yet. Inspired by Predator, Let the Right One In, and From Dusk Till Dawn, the film follows a team of private military contractors who uncover something inhuman in the jungle. Shot entirely handheld with minimal lighting and all-practical effects, it continues Lopez's dedication to immersive realism in genre filmmaking.
Creative Philosophy Lopez is the founder of BlackOps Studios Asia, known for producing original, high-concept, filmmaker-driven projects across Asia. His work is steeped in local flavor but crafted for global audiences, with a visual language marked by urgency, natural light, and grounded violence.
"Filmmaking in the Philippines is like chasing a storm with no umbrella-but doing it anyway, because the thunder sounds like your heart." - Pedring A. Lopez
Pedring A. Lopez is an award-winning Filipino filmmaker whose visceral, grounded approach to genre cinema has positioned him as one of Southeast Asia's most exciting writer-directors. Known for fusing action, horror, and regional identity into gripping narratives, Lopez continues to expand his reach internationally while staying true to his indie filmmaking roots.
Early Work and Influences Lopez began his directorial career with the horror film Binhi (The Seed), followed by the found-footage thriller Darkroom and the pandemic-shot Byernes Santo. With an eye for cinematic tension and physical storytelling, he quickly built a reputation for practical effects, in-camera action, and stylized handheld cinematography. His aesthetic draws from the kinetic energy of 1980s action films, Japanese horror, and the Southeast Asian underworld-creating a uniquely textured voice in regional cinema.
Breakout Success and Global Expansion His breakthrough came with Nilalang (2015), a Filipino-Japanese action-horror hybrid starring Maria Ozawa, which garnered international attention for its genre fusion and sleek visuals. This was followed by Maria (2019), a Netflix Original film that catapulted Lopez to global audiences. Maria was lauded for its tightly choreographed action and stark visual storytelling, and remains a standout in Filipino action cinema.
Following Maria, Lopez produced and directed the 8-part prison crime saga Sellblock (2024), a high-octane series starring Jericho Rosales, and the late Jaclyn Jose, and others. The show has been picked up for international distribution by Blue Fox Entertainment and helped solidify Lopez as a show runner capable of handling large-scale serialized storytelling.
New Projects His next feature is Shadow Transit, a gritty Southeast Asian action noir set in the underbelly of Manila and Hong Kong. The film stars Yoshi Sudarso and UK-based singer-actress Qymira, and follows a grieving photojournalist who gets entangled with a rogue DJ and a Southeast Asian crime network. Co-produced with ACT3 Hong Kong and BlackOps Studios Asia, Shadow Transit is being shot with a stripped-down, handheld style-capturing the humid tension and relentless pacing of a city on edge. It marks Lopez's return to a more intimate, personal filmmaking approach after the scale of Sellblock.
Upcoming: JI and Blood Passage JI is a transnational Southeast Asian action film set across Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Co-produced with Asia Media Alliance, VeryTay Media, and BlackOps Studios Asia, JI explores the intersections of violence, and regional gang politics.
Following that, Lopez will begin Blood Passage, his most ambitious horror-action hybrid yet. Inspired by Predator, Let the Right One In, and From Dusk Till Dawn, the film follows a team of private military contractors who uncover something inhuman in the jungle. Shot entirely handheld with minimal lighting and all-practical effects, it continues Lopez's dedication to immersive realism in genre filmmaking.
Creative Philosophy Lopez is the founder of BlackOps Studios Asia, known for producing original, high-concept, filmmaker-driven projects across Asia. His work is steeped in local flavor but crafted for global audiences, with a visual language marked by urgency, natural light, and grounded violence.
"Filmmaking in the Philippines is like chasing a storm with no umbrella-but doing it anyway, because the thunder sounds like your heart." - Pedring A. Lopez
