Born in San Fernando in the Philippines in 1960, he studied advertising design at Santo Tomas University in Manila. Beginning his career as a production designer on feature films, television productions and commercials, in 2005 he founded his own production company, Centerstage. His directorial debut, the drama "The Masseur", won a Golden Leopard at Locarno Film Festival in 2005. In 2008 he was a guest of the Berlinale's Forum section where he won the Caligari Film Award for "Tirador". In 2009 his film "Kinatay" won Best Director Award in Cannes.

Source: 62. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)