John Lloyd Cruz wins Best Actor at Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) – Actor John Lloyd Cruz bagged the prestigious Boccalino d’Oro prize or Golden Jug Award for Best Actor at the 76th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.

Cruz was recognized for his lead role in Lav Diaz’s Essential Truths of The Lake, which was the only Southeast Asian entry for the international festival’s main competition. The award was given out by the festival’s Independent Critics Jury.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) announced the news on Friday, August 11, congratulating the actor for his “remarkable performance.”

“It is with great joy and pride that I congratulate one of the most talented artists of our country, Mr. John Lloyd Cruz,” said FDCP Chairman Tirso Cruz III.

“This award is much deserved by an artist of his caliber. Lloydie, congratulations and thank you for bringing honor to our country,” he added.

In a clip posted on Facebook, Cruz is seen accepting the trophy in front of a crowd.

“Para sa Pilipino. Para sa lahat na pinatay at mga naiwan nila (For the Filipino. For all those who were killed and for those they left behind),” the actor said in his acceptance speech.

The 2023 film also stars Hazel Orencio, Shaina Magdayao, Bart Guingona, and Agot Isidro. According to IMDB, Essential Truths of The Lake‘s plot is about Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, who “when faced with Philippine President Duterte’s bloody murders and brazen lies, continues his struggle to find resolution to a 15-year-old case around a volcanic ash-laden landscape and an impenetrable lake.”

This makes Cruz the second Filipino actor to receive the Golden Jug Award for Best Actor, after Orencio won in 2014 for another Diaz film, Mula sa Kung Ano Ang Noon (From What is Before). Diaz won the Best Picture Award – or the Golden Leopard prize – for the same film in the same year. – Rappler.com