Kathleen Lei Limayo is a documentary filmmaker & photographer, multimedia journalist, video producer, and visual anthropologist based in the Philippines.
She focuses on visually documenting the impacts of the climate crisis, producing multimedia stories that explore the intersections of environmental issues with human rights, women’s rights, and indigenous struggles.
Through her reporting, she investigates how environmental degradation reshapes lives—driving displacement, deepening labor inequality, worsening food insecurity, and causing public health crises. By integrating data journalism into her storytelling, she brings depth and clarity to complex environmental issues.
She is the current chairperson of the Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines. Kathleen is a multimedia stringer for Context News in the Philippines.
She is a multiple grantee and fellow of the Earth Journalism Network. Her documentary film Sa Rikaw was nominated at the 34th Gawad Urian Film Festival, and she was the 2018 runner-up of the Cambridge Climate Frontline Programme for her multimedia story Ah’ah Laot.
Kathleen has extensively documented stories of culture and rights struggles of Indigenous communities across the Philippines for over a decade. Among the environmental stories she has covered are the displacement of Aeta Indigenous communities caused by the Philippine government’s New Clark City project, and the resistance of the Dumagat-Remontado Indigenous communities against the China-funded ‘Kaliwa Dam’ project.
Her works have been featured and published locally in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS-CBN News, Rappler.com, Adobo Magazine, Business Mirror, GMA News Online, and internationally in Context News, DATUM Magazine, and the Daily Guam Post.
Her photos have been exhibited at Horizonte Zingst’s 15th Environmental Photo Festival in Zingst, Germany, the Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in China, and online at Native Agency’s International Environmental Photo Exhibit.
Photo by CJ Perez
Photos by Krixia Subingsubing, Robin Soling, Manoy Pagatpat, Orland Quesada, Regina Sumatra, Petronilla Muñoz, CJ Perez, Joolia Demigilio, Ailina Sariul
EDUCATION
2024
Master of Arts in Philippine Studies
with specialization in Socio-Cultural Studies
Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman
Thesis: Pangentoman Min Tahik (Memories from the Sea): Sama Bajau Indigenous Ecological Knowledge for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience
2023
Graduate Diploma in Visual Journalism
with full scholarship from the Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ) at the Ateneo de Manila University
2012
Bachelor of Arts in Film and Audio-Visual Communication
Film Institute, College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines Diliman
Honor: Cum laude
Award: Best Documentary Film Thesis
Thesis: Sa Rikaw: Ang Huling Kanta ng Iraya Mangyan ng Magnot (Crown: The Last Song of the Iraya Mangyan of Magnot)
NOMINATIONS, AWARDS, GRANTS, WORKSHOPS & FELLOWSHIPS
2024
Data Journalism Fellow & Story Grantee
Media Action for Sustainable Infrastructure in the Philippines (MASIP) – Data-driven Reporting on Foreign-Funded Infrastructure Development in the Philippines
Story grant from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network
Multimedia Report: Mangroves, bird habitat at stake: Cebu-Mactan 4th bridge and coastal road project to impact Cansaga Bay biodiversity
2023
Fellow
Environmental Data Journalism Academy in the Philippines
Fellowship from Thibi and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network
2022
Story Grantee
Asia-Pacific Story Grant
Co-grantees: Krixia Subingsubing and Mariejo Ramos
Story Grant from the Earth Journalism Network
Special Two-Part Multimedia Reports:
– “Seabed quarrying ‘crowding us out,’ say Manila Bay fisherfolk”
– “Fishers urged not to venture into Manila Bay, told it’s ‘dead’“
Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and on Inquirer.net
2021
Mentee
International Environmental Photography Lab Mentorship Program
Mentorship from Native Agency, Grün Berlin, Neue Schule für Fotografie Berlin (New School for Photography), and Kigali Photo Center
2021
Fellow
Collaborative Climate Change Course
Project by the Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ) and the Earth Journalism Network (EJN)
2021
Story Grantee
Climate Change Reporting
Co-grantees: Mariejo S. Ramos and Krixia Subingsubing
Supported by Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ) & Earth Journalism Network (EJN)
Special Two-Part Multimedia Report
– “Vulnerable Dumagat folk find light, lift in solar power“
– “A tribe under threat: Dumagat vs dam“
Released in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and on Inquirer.net
2021
Tanghal Tagumpay
Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, University of the Philippines Diliman
2019
Story Grantee
Asia-Pacific Health-Related Climate Change Story Grants
Story Grant from Earth Journalism Network
Report: “Heat-related illnesses: Health impacts of climate change to farmers & fisherfolk in Dingalan, Aurora”
Released in Rappler.com
2019
Participant
14th Professional Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Workshop
Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines, Inc.
2018
Runner up
Cambridge Climate Frontline Programme
Grant for multimedia documentary project “Ah’ah Laot: People of the Sea – Climate Change Impacts to the Tigtabon Island”
2013
Nomination for Best Documentary Film
36th Gawad Urian Film Festival
Nomination for film “Sa Rikaw: Ang Huling Kanta ng Iraya Mangyan ng Magnot”
2012
Honorable Mention for Documentary Thesis
“Sa Rikaw: Ang Huling Kanta ng Iraya Mangyan ng Magnot”
TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
Videography and Video Production
Execution of video projects from conceptualization to completion
Skills: scriptwriting, storyboarding, filming, video editing, audio editing
Photography
Production of photo series and stories
Photo styles: documentary and reportage
Visual Journalism
Researching, writing, photojournalism, video journalism
Remote-controlled aerial videography and photography
Using DJI drone to capture aerial shots
Underwater Photography and Videography.
Using a professional underwater camera
Open Water Diving. PADI Certified Open Water Scuba Diver
Software used:
Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Capcut
SPECIALIZATION AND RESEARCH INTERESTS
Documentary Photography & Filmmaking
Documenting impacts of climate change and environmental issues on frontline communities (Indigenous communities, women, fisherfolk, and farmers)
Environmental, Visual & Data Journalism
Multimedia journalism, climate change reporting, using data for environmental reporting
Visual, Cultural & Environmental Anthropology
Utilizing visual and multimodal ethnographic methods in environmental and cultural research
Indigenous Studies
Documenting intangible cultural heritage, culture change, and traditional knowledge systems of Indigenous cultural communities and people groups
PHOTO COMPETITIONS
2022
Judge
APEC Photo Contest 2022
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
2021
Judge
Decade of Change Photo Competition, 1854 – British Journal of Photography
2021
Judge
APEC Photo Contest 2021, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
PHOTO EXHIBITS AND FILM SCREENINGS
2025. The Things We Carry. Visual anthropology exhibit as part of the Our Gaze – Art, Anthropology, and Asian Imagery. Held at the Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou, China.
2024. Photojournalists’ Center- Quezon City Photographers Guild Exhibit. Held at Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City, Philippines.
2023. UPFI Best Thesis Films. Screening of Sa Rikaw (2012). Held at UP Film Institute Film Center, Quezon City, Philippines.
2022. Weave of Hope: Woven by Blood. Screening of short documentary films: Ah’ah Laot, Dumagat vs. Dam, Climate Change, and New Clark City: Development for Whom? An exhibit by 350 Pilipinas, 350 Asia and 350.org commemorating the lives of environmental defenders in the Philippines. Held at Silingan Coffee Shop, Cubao Expo, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
2022. Celebrating Peace and Indigenous Women through Challenging Times. A photo exhibit showcasing the livelihood initiatives of indigenous women in Luzon and Mindanao. Exhibit held by Sulong Peace Incorporated at Instituto Cervantes de Manila, Intramuros Manila, Philippines.
2022. Horizonte Zingst’s 15th Environmental Photo Festival in Zingst, Germany.
2021. International Environmental Photography Lab. Digital Exhibit hosted by Native Agency in collaboration with Grün Berlin, Neue Schule für Fotografie Berlin and World Food Institute.
2021. A Festival of Climate Resilience Stories. Hosted by Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ) and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN)
2012. UP Film Institute Student Thesis Screening. Cine Adarna, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
2011. Coffee Art Painting Exhibit. ROX Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City
2008. disCOLOR: Black and White Photography Exhibit. UP Film Center, Quezon City
AFFILIATION
Fellow
Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN)
Chairperson, Board of Officers (2025-2026),
Regular Member
Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines, Inc.
Member
Ugnayang Pang-Aghamtao, Inc. (Anthropological Association of the Philippines)
Member
Authority Collective
Member
Filipino Freelance Journalists’ Guild
Member, Board of Trustees
Lilok Foundation Inc.
ACADEMIC CONFERENCES & PRESENTATION
2024
Paper Presenter
Projecting Beauty: Sama Bajau Women, Selfies and Social Media
46th Annual UGAT Conference: Anthropology in a Divergent World by the Anthropological Association of the Philippines
2023
Paper Presenter
Alay Lakad Laban sa Kaliwa Dam: Dumagat-Remontados’ Fight for Justice, Land, Culture and Future
6th Conference on Human Rights: Indigeneity and Human Rights in Asia and the Pacific Towards a Just Society: Challenges and Opportunities by the University of Sydney’s Southeast Asia Center.
2022
Paper Presenter
Practicing Visual Anthropology Methods with the Sama Bajau community in Caragasan, Zamboanga City: A Researcher’s Retrospection
Kapuluan: Anthropology in the Archipelago – An International Conference. 44th Annual Conference Ugnayang Pang-Aghamtao (Anthropological Association of the Philippines)
2021
Paper Presenter Resistance and Resilience: How Dumagat-Remontado Communities in Tanay, Rizal Province Respond to the Climate Crisis Amid Environmental and Socio-Cultural Threats to their Communities
Philippine Sociological Society’s 2021 International Conference: Sociology of Vulnerabilities and Resistance
Co-authored with Mariejo Ramos
2019
Paper Presenter
Ah’ah Laot (People of the Sea): Climate Change Impacts to the People of Tigtabon Island
41st UGAT Annual Conference, Visayas State University, Leyte
2019
Paper Presenter Protecting Sierra Madre: Articulating Indigenous Identity and Rights through Forest Protection and Climate Change Mitigation Practices by Dumagat Forest Rangers in Norzagaray, Bulacan. Philippine Sociological Society Annual National Conference 2019
2019
Paper Presenter – Panel
Transforming Research Results into Advocacy
Philippine Sociological Society Annual National Conference 2019
2017
Paper Presenter
The Church as Agents of Transformation: We are Witnesses!
Asian Theological Seminary 2017 Theological Forum
2016
Paper Presenter
Face-to-face and Online Interfaith Dialogue: Two Case Studies of Peace-building for Christians and Bangsamoros in the Philippines
Asian Theological Seminary 2016 Theological Forum
KATHLEEN LEI LIMAYO 