Joseph Cabato

Joseph Cabato is a Filipino-American writer, director, editor, and producer of the horror short film, Open House: The Grieving Mother (2018). The film was the Capstone Project for his MFA degree in Film and Electronic Media at American University. Principal production for Open House: The Grieving Mother (2018) began in October of 2016 and concluded in February of 2017. The movie was almost entirely shot with two iPhone 7 4K cameras (aided by the FiLMiC Pro app), while drone footage and few other scenes were shot with the Go Pro Hero 4. Besides editing, Joseph Cabato also created the Visual Effects, Sound Design and Musical Score/Remix for the movie (using royalty-free scores, tracks, loops, and sound effects). Joseph was born and raised in the Philippines, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of San Carlos. He pursued a Masters degree in Food Science at the University of the Philippines then worked as a chemist for a Food conglomerate. Eventually, he ended up doing sales and marketing for the Mead Johnson Nutrition Company in Manila. In 2001, he migrated to the U.S. to pursue his childhood dream and passion for filmmaking. He finished three Associate degrees-graduating summa cum laude in Communication Design, Interactive Design, and Fine Arts/Photography, respectively. In 2017, he received his Master of Fine Arts degree with a GPA equivalent to the highest distinction. Open House: The Grieving Mother (2018) was released in 2018 and has received multiple recognition, including a Creepy Tree Exemplar Award for "Best Horror Short Film: Creepy Director and Crew" at the Creepy Tree Film Festival (Fall Season 2018). It also won an Honorable Mention in the Student Film category of the Festigious International Film Festival in Los Angeles (January 2018 Edition) and was a semi-finalist at the L.A. Cinefest (February 2018 Edition). In June of 2019, the film won Best YouTube Production, Best Phone-Made Film, and Best Editing at the Olympus Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA. It also bagged two more awards for Best Trailer and Film Poster (designed by Joseph Cabato) at the Hollywood Blood Horror Film Festival in September, 2019. Joseph Cabato is married to Andy Taylor, a retired U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot who often serves as his Cinematographer and Drone Operator. He is a stepdad to Ian and Jack; both boys were part of the Production Crew for Open House: The Grieving Mother (2018).