FDCP chair Tirso Cruz III and John Lloyd Cruz. Image: Instagram/@fdcpofficial, @essentialtruthsofthelake
Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Tirso Cruz III sent his congratulatory greetings to John Lloyd Cruz after the latter won the best actor honor at the 76th Locarno Film Festival (LFF) in Switzerland.
John Lloyd earned the Boccalino d’Oro prize (Golden Jug Award) for best actor for his performance in “Essential Truths of the Lake,” helmed by acclaimed director Lav Diaz. The film is the country’s representative in the main competition of the Swiss film festival.
“It is with great joy and pride that I congratulate one of the most talented artists of our country, Mr. John Lloyd Cruz, for having won the Boccalino d’Oro prize (Golden Jug Award) for Best Actor at the 76th Locarno Film Festival (LFF) in Switzerland,” Tirso said in a statement released on the national film agency’s Facebook page.
“This award is much deserved by an artist of his caliber,” he added. “Lloydie, congratulations and thank you for bringing honor to our country.”
FDCP also congratulated Diaz for this “win for Philippine Cinema.” Fans, meanwhile, cheered for the award-winning actor via the comments section.
Image: Facebook/FDCP
John Lloyd is the second Filipino actor to have received the acting honor. Actress Hazel Orencio, who is also John Lloyd’s co-star in “Essential Truths of the Lake,” bagged the best actress award in 2014 for another Diaz masterpiece, “Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon” (From What Is Before).
John Lloyd, Orencio, their co-star Shaina Magdayao, and Diaz earlier flew to Switzerland to attend the film festival. /ra