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Hi, I’m Chantal Eco, a Filipina multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker. For more than 15 years, I’ve been telling stories from the margins—focused on the environment, agriculture, human rights, children’s issues, and the everyday struggles of Filipino workers, peasants, and Indigenous communities.
I started out in community radio as an anchor and later became the program director for a local radio show in Tacloban City. From there, I moved to Manila and worked with alternative media organizations in various roles—photographer, videographer, writer, video editor, and news producer—producing urgent, people-centered journalism.
Over the years, I’ve also worked on independent documentaries and helped curate and distribute films that reflect the voices of grassroots communities. In 2016, I was selected as one of the Asian Young Curators at the 4th Arkipel Jakarta International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival for my program Land, Life, and Struggle, which featured stories of Indigenous resistance in the Philippines.
One of my recent films, Bayi: Stories of Women Human Rights Defenders, produced in collaboration with Karapatan and Tanggol Bayi, was a finalist in the documentary category at the 34th Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video in 2022.
In 2023, I was part of the cohort of the Environmental Data Journalism Academy in the Philippines—an intensive program by Thibi and the Earth Journalism Network focused on using data to craft compelling, visually driven climate and environmental stories. During the fellowship, I produced a data-driven investigative report on the impacts of reclamation projects in the Philippines. Since then, I’ve continued working on data-driven investigative reports that uncover environmental destruction and human rights violations—stories that connect the dots between land, power, and people’s lives.
Today, I continue to contribute to local and international news organizations while working as a freelance cinematographer, camera operator, photographer, video editor, and news producer. My filmmaking is rooted in an observational approach—slow, patient, and grounded in deep relationships with the communities I work with.
Whether behind the camera or in the edit room, I’m drawn to stories that reveal the complexity, resilience, and quiet power of people who resist in their own ways.
On the side, I also develop WordPress websites for non-profit organizations, artists, and journalists.
If you’re looking to bring your stories, videos, or websites to life, I’d love to collaborate! Drop me a line at info@chantaleco.com to discuss your project ideas.
Education
2010-2012 – University of the Philippines Open University, Associate in Arts Graduate
2004-2007 – University of the Philippines in the Visayas Tacloban College, BA Social Sciences major in Psychology Undergraduate
Affiliations
- Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP)
- Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines (PCP)
- Filipino Freelance Journalists’ Guild (FFJG)
- National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP)
- Alpha Phi Omega International (Philippines), Inc., Service Fraternity and Sorority (ΑΦΩ), Theta Zeta Chapter
Fellowships/Grants
2024 – Financial Forensics | Asia Investigative Reporters (AIR) Network & International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)
2024 – INVESTIGATING INFRA: A Media-Academe-CSO Collab Fellowship | Asian Center for Journalism in Ateneo de Manila University, InterNews, & Earth Journalism Network
2024 – Story Grant on Inequality | Oxfam Pilipinas
2023-2024 – WebSafeandWise (WSW) Media Fellowship and Story Grants Program | Probe Media Foundation and ChildFund Philippines
2023-2024 – Environmental Data Journalism Academy for the Philippines |Thibi, Internews, & Earth Journalism Network
2012 – 16th Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Workshop | University of the Philippines Diliman, College of Mass Communication
Awards/Recognition
2022 – Finalist | 34th Gawad CCP para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video: Documentary Category
Bayi: Stories of Women Human Rights Defenders (Director)
2022 – Official Selection |14th Pandayang Lino Brocka Political Film and New Media Festival
Bayi: Stories of Women Human Rights Defenders (Director)
2016 – Arkipel Asian Young Curators | 4th ARKIPEL – Jakarta International Documentary & Experimental Film Festival
2011 – Winner | Project Rise Photo Contest, Global Fund for Children