CAST BIOGRAPHIES

GINA PAREÑO (Nanay Flor)
Gina Pareño was born to a Filipino mother and German-American father in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila. In 1964, she won a dance contest on Dance-O-Rama and signed a contract with Sampaguita Pictures. She launched her film career with the film MAMA in 1968 and, since then, has made more than 100 films. The turning point of her career was her role as Amelia in KUBRADOR (THE BET COLLECTOR, 2006) which gave her three international awards from New Delhi, Amiens and Brussels.

JACLYN JOSE (Nayda)
Jaclyn Jose launched her film career in 1984 with the film CHICKAS. In 1985, she was directed by the late filmmaker Lino Brocka in WHITE SLAVERY, which started her ascent to becoming a dramatic actress. She won awards for films such as PRIVATE SHOW (1987), TAKAW TUKSO (1987), ITANONG MO SA BUWAN (1988), MACHO DANCER (1988) and THE FLOR CONTEMPLACION STORY (1995). She has also starred in Brillante Mendoza's MASAHISTA (THE MASSEUR, 2005) and TIRADOR (SLINGSHOT, 2007).

JULIO DIAZ (Lando)
Julio Diaz made his feature screen debut in SINNER OR SAINT (1984), using the screen name Rani Regaliza. He was launched as a major dramatic actor in TAKAW TUKSO (1987), in which he starred opposite Jaclyn Jose, and HUBAD NA PANGARAP (1988). His other noteworthy films were ALIWAN PARADISE (1982), BAYANI (1992) and SAKAY (1993).

COCO MARTIN (Alan)
Coco Martin was introduced to feature films in Brillante Mendoza's MASAHISTA (THE MASSEUR, 2005), which gave him the Best Performer Award from the Young Critics' Circle. Known as the prince of independent movies in the Philippines, Martin made around 10 indie films last year, one of which included Mendoza's TIRADOR (SLINGSHOT, 2007).

KRISTOFER KING (Ronald)
Kristofer King's first role in films was in BABAE SA BREAKWATER (WOMAN OF BREAKWATER, 2003). The film was shown in the 2004 Cannes Director's Fortnight and King went to Cannes to attend the festival. He had brief roles in Brillante Mendoza's MASAHISTA (THE MASSEUR, 2005) and FOSTER CHILD (JOHN JOHN, 2007). He was given one of the major lead roles in TIRADOR (SLINGSHOT, 2007).

DAN ALVARO (Jerome)
Dan Alvaro was one of the major dramatic actors of the '80s in the Philippines. He gave unforgettable performances in films such as CONDEMNED (1984), BAGONG HARI (NEW KING, 1986), HARI SA HARI, LAHI SA LAHI (KING AND THE EMPEROR, 1987) and ANDREA, PAANO BA MAGING ISANG INA (ANDREA, 1990). He also starred in Brillante Mendoza's FOSTER CHILD (JOHN JOHN, 2007).

MERCEDES CABRAL (MERLY)
Mercedes Cabral is a student of Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines. She played a supporting role in the film BALIW (2007) and later won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2007 UP Inbox TV and Radio Festival for her performance in the digital film BITIN. Her next role will be in acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook's upcoming film THIRST.

ROXANNE JORDAN (JEWEL)
Roxanne Jordan is a college student in the Philippines. She has started a career in print and television commercials. She was one of the last girls to audition for the role of Jewel in the film. SERBIS is her first film.