Petersen Vargas

 ( Living People ) 

In January 2019 Vargas was selected to be a part of the Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC), a script and development lab for Southeast Asian filmmakers. He would go on to win the lab's grand prize, the SEAFIC Award. The prize will go towards the production of Vargas's second feature, a road movie tentatively titled Some Nights I Feel Like Walking, to be produced by Alemberg Ang and Jade Castro. The film was also selected to be a part of the Locarno Film Festival's Open Doors Hub. Later in the year, the Vargas-directed music video of Nadine Lustre's single St4y Up won Music Video of the Year at the Myx Music Awards 2019.

In 2020, Vargas directed the web series Hello Stranger, starring Tony Labrusca and JC Alcantara. In the same year, Some Nights I Feel Like Walking was selected to be a part of the 16th edition of the Cinéfondation's Atelier, a program under the auspices of the Cannes Film Festival which aims to encourage a new generation of filmmakers. Vargas also directed the short film How to Die Young in Manila (2020), which was spun off from his yet to be released second feature. The film had its world premiere at the 25th Busan International Film Festival and was later screened at the Singapore International Film Festival.

Aside from his work directing films, Vargas has also directed music videos, commercials, and has been a creative producer for the movie production company T-Rex Entertainment.