Carlo Ledesma is a Filipino-Australian filmmaker known for his feature films Outside, Sunod, and The Tunnel.

A proud Negrense-Ilonggo, Carlo was raised in Bacolod City where he studied in University of St. La Salle. He then moved to Manila in 1992 to continue his studies at De La Salle University Taft, where he pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts, with a major in Literature.

After his studies at La Salle, Carlo launched his career as a writer, producer, and host for the acclaimed sports show Gameplan on ABS-CBN’s Studio 23.

In 2004, Carlo ventured to Australia to pursue a master’s degree in film. His thesis project, The Haircut, clinched the Mini Movie Channel Award for Best Short Film at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. That same year, he directed My Game, a feature-length documentary for Nike that delved into the Philippines’ deep-rooted passion for basketball.

Carlo’s narrative feature debut came in 2011 with the found-footage horror The Tunnel, distributed by Paramount Pictures in Australia and New Zealand. The film earned him the Best Australian Director award at the 2011 Night of Horror Film Festival.

Returning to the Philippines in 2012, Carlo quickly made a name for himself as a top television commercial and content director, co-founding the production house MAKINA. He has directed high-profile campaigns for clients such as the NBA, Mitsubishi, Nestle, Coca-Cola, among many others.

His return to his homeland also further fueled his passion for narrative films. Carlo directed the acclaimed horror film Sunod, produced by Ten17p Films and Globe Studios, followed by the horror-comedy short film The Kapre for 20th Century Digital and Disney.

His latest project Outside, a gripping thriller about a family’s fight for survival amidst a zombie apocalypse, is Carlo’s most personal project to date, as Carlo drew on his real life experiences of growing up in the same region in the Philippines where Outside was filmed, and also on his desire to put his own unique spin on the zombie genre, which has been his favorite horror monster ever since he watched Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, which Carlo considers to be his favorite zombie film of all time.

Carlo dreams of continually creating elevated genre films that focus on strong human characters, conflict, and connections. He envisions a future where the Philippine film industry can achieve global recognition akin to South Korea’s success in sharing their unique stories with the world.

Carlo is currently represented by Rob Carlson, Michael Sheresky, and Ramses Ishak of United Talent Agency, and managed by Michael Klein of Magnolia Entertainment.