2023 - 68th Edition
Alchemies

ESSENTIAL TRUTHS OF THE LAKE

Lav Diaz
Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, UK
 - 2023
Estreno nacional

When asked what drives a man to search for the truth, Lieutenant Papauran says dejectedly that maybe he just wants to keep inflicting pain on himself. Faced with President Duterte’s bloody murders and brazen lies, he continues his struggle to solve a fifteen-year-old case around an ash-laden landscape and an impenetrable lake. It has become a cross he can barely carry but keeps dragging it anyway.

Lav Diaz

Born in 1958, he is considered the ideological father of the New Philippine Cinema. He works as director, writer, producer, editor, cinematographer, poet, composer, production designer and actor all at once. He is especially notable for the length of his work, his films not being governed by time but by space and nature. His work mostly deals with the social and political struggles of his motherland. Since 1998 he has directed about twenty films, and won numerous international awards including the Locarno Film Festival Pardo d’Oro with ‘From What Is Before’ (2014), the Berlinale Alfred Bauer Award with ‘A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery’ (2016) and the Venice Golden Lion with ‘The Woman Who Left’ (2016). ‘Essential Truths of the Lake’ (2023) had its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival.

DIRECTOR
Lav Diaz
SCREENPLAY
Lav Diaz
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Lav Diaz, Larry Manda
EDITOR
Lav Diaz
SOUND
Corinne De San Jose, Cecil Buban
PRODUCTION
Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Jean-Christophe Simon, Joaquim Sapinho, Marta Alves, Jeremiah R. Oh, Xin Ying Kang, Stefano Centini, Dan Wechsler, Andreas Roald, Jamal Zeinal-Zade
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Epicmedia Productions, Films Boutique, Rosa Filmes, Tier Pictures, Volos Films Italia, Bord Cadre Films, Sovereign Films
CAST
John Lloyd Cruz, Hazel Orencio, Shaina Magdayao, Bart Guingona, Agot Isidro, Tart Carlos, Paul Jake Paule, Ivan Raborar
RUNNING TIME
213 min.
TYPE
Largometraje
FORMAT
Color y B/N
YEAR OF PRODUCTION
2023
VERSION
O.V. in Tagalog subtitled in English and Spanish
COUNTRY
Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, UK
CONTACT

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