From avid fan to film director

Before she was even a film director, Antoinette Jadaone was a fan. 

Direk Tonette, as she is better known, is one of the emerging female directors of the film and TV industry. She’s probably best known for her work in On the Wings of Love with James Reid and Nadine Lustre as lead stars, but even before that, she made a couple of indie films, including Six Degrees of Separation From Lilia Cuntapay (her debut film), the youth-oriented Relaks, It’s Just Pag-Ibig and That Thing Called Tadhana, a film that was well-received critically and at the box-office and which earned her the tag of Blockbuster Hugot Director.

She grew up in a family that loved watching movies. “Yung family ko, nu’ng bata ako, mahilig talaga manood ng sine. It’s a tradition, na ‘pag may bagong palabas pinapanood namin. Mga pelikula nina Dolphy, Sheryl Cruz, Romnick Sarmenta, ganyan, so mahilig talaga ako sa films,” she says.

As she grew older and became a movie fan herself, direk Tonette found herself attracted to the tandem of Piolo Pascual and Judy Ann Santos. When she started in the industry, one of the directors she worked closely with was direk Joyce Bernal, who helmed the Piolo-Judy Ann starrer Don’t Give Up On Us, also one of direk Tonette’s favorite movies. It was also direk Joyce who gave Tonette her first break in the industry.

Direk Tonette explains why she was attracted to the Piolo-Judy Ann tandem: “Kasi si Juday, ano siya, parang very one of us. Si Piolo ‘yung unattainable man, pero nakukuha siya lagi ni Juday sa pelikula. May relatability kasi si Juday.” 

So she said to herself, she wanted to build a career making movies, particularly romantic comedies. She liked how they touched people’s emotions, and at the same time made them feel good. “So, I told myself, one day, gusto kong gumawa ng ganu’ng pelikula na ang daming tao na napapatawa, napapakilig,” she says.

Now, she has successfully made a name for herself in that genre. That Thing Called Tadhana was a major blockbuster, and even spawned a book, The Arrow With A Heart Pierced Through Him.

It was the film that inspired the book, and not the other way around. “In That Thing Called Tadhana, Angelica’s (Panganiban) character Mace gave Anthony (JM de Guzman) a book and they had a pact in the middle of the movie. Parang sabi ni Mace, ‘I wrote a book and since you are a frustrated painter, o dati kang nag-pa-paint, you should be the one to do the illustration. Sa dulo, ‘yun yung parang epilogue. Ginawa niyang libro para kay Mace. So ito ‘yun.” 

Direk Tonette reveals that writing was one of her passions before she discovered film and its power to tell stories on a larger scale. “I’ve been into writing even before — blogs, newspapers. Me and my friend put up a company called Tita Witty which publishes books. We publish yearly planners and notebooks with humor. Mga Tagalog na planner, may bakla language, every year we do that. Ito ang first book namin.”

She started writing back in grade school, and at one point even had a short stint for the Junior Inquirer. “Then, when I was already working, when blogging became a fad, well, even during college, I was already into blogging. When Philippine STAR Supreme called for writers for its youth section, I submitted articles. Then recently, kinuha kami ng Supreme as Tita Witty as ‘yung publisher ng book. We have a weekly column in The STAR that gives love advice in a humorous way.”

Of course, the most commercially rewarding of her recent work has been On the Wings of Love, the show that transformed James and Nadine into a top-tier love team. 

Recalling her experiences on the show, direk Tonette says they were surprised when OTWOL became a hit.

“Super!” she says. “Before the pilot episode, I was so nervous. First teleserye ko rin kasi.”

The show went on to become a major hit, and also helped establish direk Tonette’s career. Now, she has her hands full with projects, and is looking on a very bright future in the industry.