At the promising age of 16 years old, John Harvey Guce started to have interest in film making when he joined his first film festival, the Rosarian Student Short Film Festival, at his high school. There he entered with the film ‘Pretender Juicy, an LGBT+ short film about a friend’s failing attempt at hiding his feelings towards his best friend. There he explored themes about sexuality in the turbulent period of being a teenager. The film went on to win Best Film, People’s Choice, and Best Director which greatly bolstered his passion for film. 

His second film titled Rosa Mananampalataya (Faithful Rosa) showed that Norman Bates isn’t the only mother-obsessive child in town. In this film, Guce demonstrated just how terrifying obsession sprinkled with a hint of idolatry can be. It won Best Trailer, Best in Editing, Best in Cinematography, and was a finalist in University of the East’s Media and Information Literacy Film Fest back in 2018.

After getting his hand in joining film festivals, Guce decided to go beyond local competitions. He dived into the international scene with his recent film, I AM HOME (Balay ‘na Ko), which he made with his founded production crew, Lente Films Production. It told the story of how a mother is trying to cope with the loss of her child, and that home is not a place, but a feeling. It won several film fests; in the United Kingdoms, it won Audience’s Choice Award; in the Netherlands, it was chosen to be part of an institution’s collection of international films; and in the United States, where it was chosen to be publicly screened.