Paola Mardo is an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She produced Veterano (written and directed by Patrick Epino, starring Jon Jon Briones), which premiered internationally at Fantasia, where it was selected for Official Competition, Best Short Film and won Outstanding Performance. It won the Audience Award at the Asian American International Film Festival and will screen at the American Cinematheque’s PROOF Film Festival this November 2026.
Paola is a 2025 Producers Guild of America Create Lab Fellow. Previously, she served as SVP, Head of Audio at Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media, where she earned a 2024 NAACP Image Award and Webby Award for producing Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast, hosted by Ta-Nehisi Coates. She created, hosted, directed, and produced In Proximity (streaming on HBO Max, YouTube), which earned Webby Honors for Arts & Culture, Film & TV, and Best Video Series.
Born in LA’s Historic Filipinotown and raised in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and the San Francisco Bay Area, Paola created, hosted, wrote, and produced Long Distance, a narrative podcast about the Filipino diaspora. She began her career at Sony Pictures and Annapurna Pictures. She writes the Substack newsletter Subtitles.
For business, speaking, or press inquiries:
hello@longdistanceradio.com
VETERANO
A desperate Filipino World War II veteran with nothing left to lose dusts off his past and his pistol for one last mission in 1981 San Francisco. A neo-noir crime thriller and proof-of-concept inspired by the real history of Filipino WWII veterans. Written and directed by Patrick Epino. Produced by Paola Mardo and Patrick Epino. For more: VeteranoFilm.com.
In Proximity
A podcast about craft, career, and creativity from Proximity Media. Paola created and developed the show and produced its first two seasons. In September 2025, the show returned as a weekly video and audio podcast with Paola as host, director, and producer. 2026 Webby Nominee. 2024, 2025, and 2026 Webby Honoree in multiple categories including Best Video Podcast.
Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast
A limited series about the making of BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER. Hosted and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Produced by Paola Mardo. Winner of the 2024 NAACP Image Award and Webby Award.
Subtitles
A substack newsletter about independent filmmaking, culture, and creativity. Written by Paola Mardo.
On becoming a full-time independent filmmaker
We won at Fantasia!
Why I’m taking my first film on tour
How a bag of drugs changed the course of my career
What matters most
Long Distance
A narrative podcast about stories in the Filipino diaspora hosted, written, created, and produced by Paola Mardo. The companion documentary series Long Distance TV is directed by Paola Mardo and Patrick Epino. Selected for the inaugural PRX Google Podcasts creator program. Featured in Vanity Fair’s 10 Essential Podcasts from AAPI Creators, IndieWire’s Best Podcasts of 2020, and The New York Times Podcast Club’s 2019 Picks.
“The history of the United States cannot be properly told without including the stories of Filipino and Filipino American people. Paola Mardo’s podcast presents a vital resource in telling that story.”
— The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Project
“Not only has Mardo done the impressive work of excavating these untold or obscured stories, but she’s polished them, through thoughtful storytelling and excellent production, so they can truly shine.”
— Vanity Fair, “10 Essential Podcasts from AAPI Creators”
“Top 5 podcast. Shout out to Ryan, Zinzi, Sev, and Paola. Much needed.”
“The podcast I’ve been waiting for all my life.”
