Exes John Lloyd Cruz, Shaina Magdayao attend Locarno Film Festival 2023

August 9, 2023 - 2:48pm

John Lloyd Cruz, Shaina Magdayao, and Hazel Orencio in Locarno, Switzerland

"Essential Truths of the Lake" via Instagram

MANILA, Philippines — Actors and former couple John Lloyd Cruz and Shaina Magdayao attended the 76th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland for the premiere of their film "Essential Truths of the Lake."

The movie directed by Lav Diaz also star Hazel Orencio, Bart Guingona, Dido dela Paz, and Agot Isidro. It is competing at the festival's main competition, the Concorso Internazionale alongside 16 other films, and is the only Southeast Asian film in the category.

The film's producers Bianca Balbuena, Brad Liew, Joaquim Sapinho, and Jeremiah Oh also attended the premiere in support of their movie.

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"Essential Truths of the Lake" is somewhat related to Diaz's previous film "When the Waves Are Gone," which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year because of Cruz's character Hermes Papauran — Cruz and Diaz are frequent collaborators having now done six projects together.

On the jury for Concorso Internazionale are "Aftersun" director Charlotte Wells and "The Matrix" franchise actor Lambert Wilson serving as jury president. Filipina filmmaker Isabel Sandoval is on the jury for the First Feature category.

The long-running Locarno Film Festival was heavily affected by the ongoing actors' strike in Hollywood, with celebrities like Cate Blanchett and Riz Ahmed pulling out from attending.

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