All Set: Production Designers Ben Padero and Carlo Tabije

In production design, the world must be fully formed before the first line is delivered. Production designers Ben Padero and Carlo Tabije approach their partnership with the same practice. They never sleep on a task, just as they never sleep on a problem. Conversations are blocked and reblocked, and tensions are resolved before the next day’s call time. After 19 years together, they have learned to balance light and shadow, spectacle and restraint (meaning production budget), and ambition and rest.

For part three of our 2026 Valentine’s special, we sit down with Ben and Carlo to trace the plot of their shared life and visions: how love came first, work followed, and how they continue to design worlds for film while carefully tending to the story they’ve built together.

Kanto: Welcome to Kanto, Ben and Carlo! Happy Valentine’s Day! For the sake of our readers, can you please introduce yourselves and tell us about how you met?

Ben: Thank you for having us, Kanto! I’m Ben, a production designer for film, sometimes for theater too! This interview feels like a full-circle moment for me because I’m a frustrated architect! I took up BS Architecture at UP Diliman, then I flunked all the math subjects, and wanted to shift to Film. Certain things didn’t allow me to do so, so I shifted to Fine Arts and completed a degree in Visual Communication. I believe I still get to apply the rules of drafting, building code, and all the technical lessons from architecture to how I set the stage for production, alongside influences from my passion for music, photography, and art.

Carlo: Hi, Kanto! I’m Carlo. I took up Fine Arts, major in Painting at UP Diliman as well. No shifting of programs for me! I did have other interests. I was a scholar of National Artist for Fashion Design Pitoy Moreno, and I really liked designing clothes.

I first knew of Ben through college, and I often see him on campus; I just don’t think he noticed me? Kidding aside, we didn’t really have a chance to meet back then. After college, my work focused more on art workshops and events. It was only after that that Ben and I reconnected and really got to know each other. It was also the time he wanted to go solo and pursue film, so while we were dating, we realized we jived as creatives and decided to take on projects as a tandem. We became an official couple in 2007, and then it was only around 2009 to 2011 that we formalized accepting projects together.

Interesting! So it was by getting to know each other on a personal level that you realized your creative connection. How has finding that link been working for you so far?

Ben: Usually, there really is one production designer in a film, but we realized we were stronger as a unit, so we capitalized on that. Carlo holds knowledge in fashion, so he takes care of costumes. He’s also more visual by nature. I am confident he can come up with the grandest of ideas and bring more life to a set.

As for me, I know the ins and outs of production design as I was an assistant for Brillante Mendoza and eventually became the production designer for certain films he directed. I’d say that Carlo and I balance each other. Whatever the other lacks in strength, the other supplies. And whatever weaknesses the other has, the other makes up for in some way.

Carlo: On that note of balance, brainstorming also comes naturally now! Since we don’t have a physical office, we’d come up with ideas while eating dinner, before sleeping, and the exchange of concepts will be endless! Ben grounds my crazy visions by reminding me of the budget, and I’d provide a little extra push whenever a concept needs a little more glitter.

Work and life share a space (literally) in your relationship. Was there ever a time your personal feelings affected your work and vice versa? How do you navigate through situations like this?

Ben: Film sets are exhausting, and sometimes arguments can get heated. But one thing we’ve established over the years is that we never sleep on anything. Be it an argument or an idea we can’t put aside, we have to talk it through and not carry it with us the next day.

Carlo: I’d like to say our work ethic is dictated more by our relationship and not the other way around. There’s also no place for competitiveness in our relationship. We recognize each other’s expertise and respect those.

Ben: It’s also about reacting to one another emotionally. There was a time that one of us (and I mean Carlo) walked out of the set. Instead of approaching him right away, I let him cool down first. It’s something that comes with time, I think, to be able to know how to deal with someone you hold dear when emotions are high. And we’re lucky to have gotten to that point. We’re actually celebrating our 19th anniversary on February 16! I’m pretty sure we already get each other. Siguro naman, ‘di ba?

19 years, wow. What’s your favorite thing about each other?

Ben: I love Carlo’s family-orientedness! And it’s not just the typical love for family; in him, I see a different kind of love. Whenever I see him with his relatives, I see how they can joke around with each other and even roast each other, but at the end of the day, you see how pure their love and bond are. Sometimes he can be angry at someone and still be cooking for them and worried about what they will be eating. And that doesn’t bother me at all, because I just know love is there.

Carlo: Ben is veeeery patient. I am a very expressive person, yet he doesn’t take anything I say point-blank. He always tries to understand where I am coming from and never takes work conversations personally. I know I am loved because I am being truly listened to. Even during random rants, he makes sure to help me process. So whenever I get the chance, I try to do the same for him.

That’s so beautiful, and coming from a gay couple, this shows how romantic queer love is just the same as any romantic love out there.

I have to ask. As a queer couple working in film, what does it mean for you to represent the community? What does it mean for you to be visible, not only as individual artists but as partners sharing your love, especially in an industry where queer perception is still evolving?

Ben: Thank you for asking this, Gabbie! To be blunt, besides coming out as a queer couple, we’ve also come out as a Serodifferent couple. Carlo is HIV positive, while I’m negative. We worked on this play before called Under My Skin, which sparked conversations about all the issues of the gay community, and later inspired us to share our story as a Serodifferent couple. This led to multiple inquiries, questions, and even just messages of love. We realized that these conversations aren’t hard; they just have to happen. And we know that our professions also played a role in allowing our story to go big.

Carlo: I’d also like to circle back to what you said, Gabbie, that romantic queer stories are just the same as other love stories out there. Because queer life is real life. And whatever problems or situations straight couples go through, chances are we do too. It’s the same thing, just through a different lens.

As filmmakers, we are also storytellers. When we put ourselves out there, or even just our designs, especially if it links to queer stories, then we believe we are already representing the community. Film doesn’t stop; its effect multiplies. After watching a film, something stays with you. And that’s how we battle our issues, by inserting them in stories and allowing them to stick. We look forward to the day that queer love stories like ours no longer have to be highlighted for them to be understood.

Ben: I guess, by sharing our story, we also want to tell younger queer people out there that there’s a queer couple who lived a fruitful, healthy life together. We’re just the same as other love stories you read or watch about! We can be truly happy.

Thank you so much for the heartwarming conversation, Ben and Carlo! Before you go, any manifestations for the future? What other dreams are you looking forward to reaching together?

Carlo: We recently got into a fitness program, where I am now a coach. It’s refreshing to know that you can still see wonders in your body, despite what people say about aging and health. Who would’ve thought we’d be building abs at a certain age, right? On a serious note, we aim to be consistent in this fitness journey, and who knows, we might be able to build something out of it! We also started a little café before, which we are hoping to revisit. Or maybe a food business?

Ben: Age reveal! We’re approaching our 50s. We’ve done countless films and achieved awards in an industry we’ve only dreamt of being in. We’re at a point in our lives where we’ve luckily checked some of the biggest dreams we had as children. So, now we ask ourselves, what’s next? Maybe we’ll revisit the café or start a food business, as Carlo mentioned. We’re also planning for a retirement home in Bukidnon.

Safe to say, we’re building new dreams as we go, and we’re trusting that life will lead us to the next best thing. •

benjaminpadero.com