Donovan Tolledo (Philippines/USA)

Donovan Tolledo is a Los Angeles-based writer and producer born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Manila and Chicago. A bit of a nomad, his films often tell stories of migrant people and subcultures, exploring themes of gender roles, racial inequity, and sexual identity through cinema. In 2022 he received his M.F.A. in Creative Producing from Columbia University in New York City, where he received multiple awards for producing and writing. Films he wrote and produced there have been shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards and screened at film festivals such as Telluride, Hamptons, Palm Springs, Tallinn Black Nights, Outfest Fusion, and NewFest. His feature-length script Fat Lip landed him the 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellowship and Columbia University Faculty Honors. Donovan is also a 2023 Film Independent Project Involve Producing Fellow and served as a jury member for the 2023 San Sebastián Film Festival.

Oasis In 1989 Saudi Arabia, two Filipino foreign workers fall in love despite both still being married back home.