Director Brillante Mendoza revealed that the sex scene between Coco Martin and Mercedes Cabral was simulated. "It was assumed by everyone that in the sex scene there was real penetration. The actors knew how I work, and if they were on a different level of their profession, they probably would have had real sex. But since this was the girl's first film and she's from a conservative family, she had done enough, so there is no penetration. But I wanted people to believe there was actual sexual intercourse, and it was so realistic that people believe that's what happened," he explained.
Mercedes Cabral's debut. Brillante Mendoza recounts how difficult it was to find the actress for the role of Merly, partly because of a very explicit sex scene: "I couldn't think of a young actress from mainstream movies who can do what the role required, so I held an audition for the role of Merly. I wanted someone who's not interested in becoming a "movie star," I wanted a real artist who can give justice to the role, and I saw that in Mercedes. The first thing I asked is if she would trust me to shoot this somewhat graphic love scene with Coco. She said it wasn't a problem."
For this film, Brillante Mendoza is the second Filipino director to be nominated for Palm d'Or, after Lino Brocka.
The cross dresser's character is played by Julia Taylor, a woman actress. Taylor has a scene in which she performs unsimulated fellatio to Kristoffer King.