KAPWA

17/09/2025

We are thrilled to share that our adult animated comedy drama, FISH BOI, has been announced as a grantee of the The Film Development Council of the Philippines’ (FDCP) International Co-Production Fund (ICOF).

FISH BOI represents a first-of-its-kind co-production collaboration between Manila-based Puppeteer Studios (Philippines) and KAPWA Studioworks, a Filipino-Australian-owned animation studio based in Sydney. The project is proudly written, directed and produced by a Filipino-Australian team, with animation leadership driven by homegrown Filipino talent at Puppeteer.

We thank the FDCP for supporting a unique creative project that seeks to push the boundaries of adult animated drama, and celebrates and reflects on the complexities of the Filipino diaspora in Australia through a comedic lens.

17/09/2025

It was amazing to see FISH BOI’s announcement at the SBS Upfronts for 2026. We’ve got an exciting road ahead of us as we move into completing development, but we’re just going to take this moment, to celebrate every little win for KAPWA. We’re going to savour and celebrate this milestone.

A huge thank you to our EP’s and co-development partners Gabrielle Joosten and Libbie Doherty for your invaluable guidance and support. And a huge thank you to Zareh Nalbandian for your mentorship and backing. We are truly blessed.

A huge thanks to the team at SBS On Demand and Screen Australia that has supported us so far. And to our wonderful development team: our rockstar script editor Melissa Lee Speyer, production co-ordinator Maristelle Tandog, and the legends that have backed us in the writer’s rooms: Lily Cheng, Mark Mariano, Claire Atkins and Ange Pezzano. A big thanks to our friends at Arts and Cultural Exchange - ACE for all your support with our writer’s rooms.

Thank you all for backing our journey so far. We look forward to making a fantastic show. As always, stay tuned for more.

Team photos at the KAPWA studio by Justin Cueno.

KAPWA
-animation

22/08/2025

We are seeking concept designers from the Filipino-Australian community or Western Sydney for art department and storyboard roles on our animated adult comedic drama, FISH BOI. We are especially looking for those with a strong familiarity and experience with Filipino-Australian culture, fashion, iconography and visual language, and/or familiarity with the Blacktown City area and surrounds.

Roles include Concept Artist Generalists, Matte Painters, Character Designers, Environment/Background Designers, and Storyboard Artists.

Follow the LINK for job postings and more details: https://www.kapwa.co/jobs

Prerequisites: Australian citizens or working visas only



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22/08/2025

Kapwa Studioworks is assembling an art department team for our new original animated adult series, FISH BOI, a hypebeasty comedic drama set in the late 90’s. We’re seeking highly skilled and passionate artists to help bring this world to life.

Wanted: Concept Artist Generalists, Matte Painters, Character Designers, Environment/Background Designers, and Storyboard Artists.

Follow the LINK for job postings and more details: https://www.kapwa.co/jobs

Prerequisites: Australian citizens or working visas only



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13/05/2025

We're proud to announce that our Kapwa Founder, Robertino Zambrano is on the Festival Jury this year for the TV & Commissioned Films and VR Works categories at Annecy Festival 2025.

After many years being on the screen at this festival, we're honored and excited to contribute to this event! We look forward to seeing some amazing work.

If you will be in Annecy in June - reach out and say hello!

08/04/2025

Big News! 🎉 KAPWA is a Webby Awards Nominee!

We’re honoured to be nominated in The Webby Awards for The Washington Post: The Signature Skills of Simone Biles (Paris 2024).

Now, we need your support to bring home the Webby People’s Voice Award! 🏆

Cast your vote in each of these categories:

🎥 Animation (Video & Film)
🔗 Vote here: https://wbby.co/3XAxgl6

🎨 Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics (Websites and Mobile Sites - Features & Design)
🔗 Vote here: https://wbby.co/4i25Iww

🏅 Sports (Video & Film)
🔗 Vote here: https://wbby.co/4hO8zc8

🗳 Voting closes Thursday, April 17th, at 11:59 PM PDT—let’s bring this home!

A huge thank you to our amazing team and collaborators for bringing this project to life. Now, let’s make some noise and get those votes in!

17/02/2025

Looking Back on NodeFest 2024! 🎬✨

Kapwa is proud to have been a Bronze Sponsor for Node last November, supporting such an incredible gathering of creative minds. Huge thanks to James Cowen and the Yes Captain team for putting together an inspiring event and we look forward to the 2025 edition!

Shoutout to all the incredible speakers—your insights were truly valuable. We left feeling inspired and energised!

Already counting down to Node25—see you there!

13/11/2024

Today we celebrate our legendary Head of Production, Dulce Aguilar, being included on the AWG Pathways First Break list. AWG Pathways is hosted by ACE Parramatta in partnership with Screen Trades.

“As KAPWA expands its operations into film and TV development, AWG Pathways has given me an opportunity to grow my voice as a creative producer, and emerging writer, letting me build on my production experience with a creative toolkit as we work to build an exciting development slate. At KAPWA, we encourage the upskilling of our team across all parts of the business, as we believe great ideas can come from anywhere, as well us giving us more power for open knowledge-sharing with our community.”

Feel free to reach out and say hello to Dulce Ags.

If you’re interested in participating in a similar program, ACE & Screen Trades are holding a fantastic follow-up workshop "Fundamentals of Script Coordination for TV Dramas and Comedies" on Sat 23 & 30 Nov at ACE. Visit Arts and Cultural Exchange - ACE and Screen Trades for more info.

11/10/2024

We are thrilled to announce KAPWA’s acceptance into the Screen Australia Enterprise Program. The Enterprise Business program supports screen businesses to create change, grow their business and build pathways to sustainability.

Enterprise will support Kapwa to set up a dedicated Film & Episodic Division with the goal of developing a diverse-first slate focused on creating culturally powerful content - for and by the Filipino-Australian community. The mission is to boost Filipino representation locally and globally, on-screen, and behind the camera - particularly in business and creative leadership roles. Kapwa will expand under Enterprise to include Western Sydney producer Dulce Ags (Producer & Development Executive) to work in partnership with Kapwa founder Robertino Zambrano to develop the slate in addition to the existing team, including Maristelle Tandog.

We’re also excited to announce award-winning producer Will Feng (Credits include the Emmy-winning ‘We The People’, ‘Star Wars Visions’), will support KAPWA as a Consulting EP. Gabrielle Joosten (Animal Logic, Flying Bark, Cumulus VFX, Elements Post) also joins KAPWA’s advisory Consulting EP team, bringing her massive experience in globally-released feature film, series, animation and visual effects projects.

With this support it’s our goal to build a slate that is culturally relevant on a local level, and also destined for success on the international stage.

Kapwa is currently in development with SBS Australia and Screen Australia on their Digital Originals animated series, Fish Boi, an animated dramedy series set in the Filipino community of Western Sydney in the late 90s.

Kapwa Studioworks is a 100% Filipino-Australian owned animation studio founded by Oscar-shortlisted writer, director and producer Robertino Zambrano, best known for the Academy Award-shortlisted animated short, Love in the Time of March Madness, the Annecy-winning poetry animation, TED-Ed: Accents and Billie Eilish’s Not My Responsibility interlude in the Grammy-nominated film Happier Than Ever (Disney+).

We would like to thank Maria from Alzate Photography for the amazing photos and Common House studio for letting us use their wonderful space.

08/10/2024

Kapwa is proud to be a Bronze sponsor of Node Fest 2024, the premier event for designers, animators, and digital professionals from Australia and New Zealand.

Don't miss out—learn more and grab your tickets at nodefest.com.au!

17/09/2024

Kapwa founder and producer Robertino Zambrano and Dulce Aguilar were on SBS Filipino talking about FISH BOI and KAPWA. Thanks for having us on the show!

Filmmakers Robertino Zambrano and Dulce Aguilar, both raised in Sydney, grew up without seeing shows on Australian TV that reflected their own stories and Filipino culture. Now, they are determined to change that narrative.

13/09/2024

Next month KAPWA founder Robertino Zambrano will be speaking about his career in the film and animation industry at High and Loud’s Filipino community event: FUEL Conference - Bowman Hall, Blacktown on Sunday 13th October.

Hear about his creative journey, and some great talks from many different sides of the Filipino-Australian community, including Rado Gatchalian, Elysa Paglinawan Villareal and Sheila Gutierrez Cabacungan among others. The event will also be supported by local business from the community.

Come say hello!

Tix available now:
https://events.humanitix.com/the-unli-conference-2024

Filipinos Unlimited. Join us at our October 13 Fil-Aus conference. Rego just $20.