Auraeus Solito, also known as Kanakan-Balintagos, is a Palawán-Filipino filmmaker and indigenous peoples rights advocate who comes from a lineage of shaman-kings from the Palawán tribe. He was one of the first to be born outside of his tribal land of South Palawan. He was born in Manila and, after graduating from the Philippine Science High School, studied theater at the University of the Philippines, where he received a degree in Theater Arts. One of the leading independent filmmakers in the Philippines, he was chosen as part of in Take 100, The Future of Film in 2010. This book, published by Phaidon Press, New York, is a survey featuring 100 emerging film directors from around the world who have been selected by 10 internationally prominent film festival directors.

Shirley O. Lua is an associate professor of literature and cultural studies at De La Salle University (DLSU). She currently chairs the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the film critics group that confers the annual Gawad Urian on the best Philippine movies. She co-edited Direk: Essays on Filipino Filmmakers (with Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr., DLSU Publishing House and Sussex Academic Press, 2018).