Biography
Born to Filipino immigrants in Oakland, California, Paul is an award-winning director of photography who works internationally in both scripted and documentary.
After working at Lucasfilm, he earned his MFA in Cinematography from UCLA, learning from then cinematographer in residence, Roger Deakins, and afterwards working as an electric for Emmanuel Lubezki.
In 2009, he was awarded the 'Colón de Plata' for Best Cinematography at the Huelva Latin-American Film Festival in Spain for his work on the Bolivian feature "Zona Sur", in which every scene was covered in a one-shot rotating master. "Zona Sur" won Best International Feature at Sundance 2010 and garnered praise in American Cinematographer magazine.
His 2nd feature, "Land Without Evil (Yvy Maraey", shot on 35mm film earned him honors at CamerImage 2014, Berlinale 2015 and the NY MOMA.
His 4th narrative feature, 88, a political thriller, shot on anamorphic, premiered at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and is now available on Apple+
Recently "Tab Time" Seasons 1-2, a children's show hosted by Tabitha Brown was nominated for 2 Emmy's, for Outstanding Preschool Series and Outstanding Host.
He has also been contributing to the visuals of "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC through Camera Operating for fellow UCLA Alumnus, Jeanne Tyson.
On the documentary front, Paul recently lensed the visuals for Netflix documentary "Bill Russell Legend" directed by academy nominated Sam Pollard on the late basketball great, Bill Russell, and his impact on the modern athlete using their platform for activism and change.
And most recently he lensed John Travolta's directorial debut, "Propeller One Way Night Coach", which premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival where John was awarded the Palm d'Or d'Honneur.
Paul's visuals are unique to each piece, fully supporting the story.
When not on set, Paul can be found playing tennis or soccer, or in the islands with his family.
