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SINE METU Media Productions is a Philippine-based film production company, founded in 2022 by Dustin Celestino and Janel Gutierrez Celestino.
“Sine metu” is Latin for “without fear.”
Our mission is to tell fearless stories that highlight the beauty of the human struggle; to provoke difficult but necessary conversations; and to use cinema as a tool for social and cultural transformation.
Our brand is built on financial transparency, industry regulation compliance, and ethical operations, where the safety and well-being of the cast and crew come first. This approach has helped us earn the trust of our collaborators, and we believe that our ability to tell large-scale stories with small-scale, independent financing will be attractive to more investors.
DUSTIN CELESTINO is a multi-awarded Filipino filmmaker, playwright, and educator whose work has been recognized across film, theater, and literature.
His 2023 film Ang Duyan ng Magiting (The Cradle of the Brave) won the Special Jury Prize and Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Acting at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, was nominated for seven Gawad Urian Awards including Best Picture, and was one of seven films shortlisted as the Philippines' official entry to the 96th Academy Awards.
His earlier film Utopia (2019), which he wrote and directed for the Cinema One Originals Film Festival, earned him nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay and received the Special Jury Award.
From 2017 to 2025, Celestino won nine Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (the Philippine equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) for his plays Ang Pangahas na si Pepe Rodriguez (The Malevolent Pepe Rodriguez), The Story of this Father, Ang Duyan ng Magiting (The Cradle of the Brave), The Lost Filipino Patriots of America, Fermata, Birdie, ‘a.ni.mal, Elehiya (Elegy), and Fidelity. He has also been recognized by the DLSU Annual Literary and Visual Arts Awards, receiving the Certificate of Excellence four times for his early literary works.
A regular fixture at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Virgin Labfest, he has staged four notable plays over seven years: Mga Eksena sa Buhay ng Kontrabida (Scenes from the Life of an Antagonist), Doggy, Fermata, and Ang Munting Liwanag sa Madilim na Sulok ng Isang Serbeserya sa Maynila (The Glimmer of Light in a Dark Corner of a Beerhouse in Manila).
Celestino is also a fellow of prestigious programs such as the Found Story School of Filmmaking, Ricky Lee Screenwriting Workshop, HOOQ Filmmakers’ Guild, and various national writers workshops including the Ateneo National Writers' Workshop, IYAS La Salle National Writers' Workshop, and the Silliman University National Writers Workshop.
His recent projects include Strange Frequences: Taiwan Killer Hospital, which competed at the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival, Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan (As the Hydra Devours History), which competed at the 2025 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, and ’a.ni.mal, a finalist for the 2026 edition of Cinemalaya.
JANEL GUTIERREZ CELESTINO is a producer and co-founder of SINE METU Media Productions, a Philippine-based film company dedicated to telling fearless, socially relevant stories.
Her first feature, Ang Duyan ng Magiting (The Cradle of the Brave), won the Special Jury Prize and Best Ensemble Acting at 2023 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and received seven Gawad Urian nominations, including Best Picture. It was also among the finalists considered as the Philippines’ official submission to the 96th Academy Awards.
Her recent projects include Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan (As the Hydra Devours History), starring Dolly de Leon, Jojit Lorenzo, Mylene Dizon, and Zanjoe Marudo, which premiered at the 2025th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, DGPI Vision Development Prize winner Haligi ng Demokrasya (The Pillars of Democracy), Active Vista Climate Story Lab selection Imperyo ng Buhangin (Empire of Sand), The Tipping Point (FDCP CreatePHFilms grantee), and ‘a.ni.mal, an official entry to the 2026th edition of Cinemalaya.
Janel is committed to producing work that confronts difficult truths, amplifies underrepresented voices, and uses film as a tool for cultural transformation.
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