Ralston G. Jover hails from Manila, where he attended Creative Writing and Film Studies at the Mowelfund Film Institute. His first big break came in 2006 when he wrote Kubrador (The Bet Collector), tackling the gambling menace called jueteng in the Philippines. Then he went on to write Manoro (The Teacher), about an indigenous girl who teaches a literacy program to her tribe members in preparation for the coming national elections and, in 2007, Foster Child, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight. In 2009, Ralston directed his first full-length film entitled Bakal Boys (Children Metal Divers), about the social condition of poor children diving for scrap metals in Manila Bay. It went on a festival tour, mostly in Europe, and won Best Film prizes in Vancouver, Turin, Barcelona, and Lyon. It also gained Best Screenplay awards in Thessaloniki, Greece, and the Skip-City D-Cinema Film Festivals in Japan.
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