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Jet Leyco made his feature debut Ex Press, which was also his graduation film at the Asia Pacific Film Institute in Manila, in 2011. He gained experience in filmmaking as an intern for the Filipino directors Lav Diaz and Khavn De La Cruz. Leave It for Tomorrow, for Night Has Fallen (2013) was made with a Hubert Bals Fonds grant for script development. Town in a Lake (2016) is his most recent film.

We talk to him about “Town in a Lake”, his career, Philipino cinema and more.

You have worked alongside Lav Diaz and Khavn. Can you tell us a bit about those experiences?

I worked with them as an intern. I was a junior college student then. It was a very meaningful year because all I need to learn about alternative cinema, I’ve got it from them and from the people who were part of the their process.

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Jet Leyco is a critically acclaimed Philippine filmmaker based in Manila. In 2009, he graduated cum laude at Far Eastern University. He gained filmmaking experience while doing internship for cinema masters Khavn Dela Cruz and Lav Diaz. He has directed a variety of short films and the feature films like Ex Press (2011), Leave It For Tomorrow For Night Has Fallen (2013), and Town In A Lake (2015), each respectively competed at various film festivals like Rotterdam, London and New York. All of them respectively won numerous national and international accolades and awards. Furthermore, he teaches Film Appreciation at Asia Pacific Film Institute, and also provides digital content for advertising – which he thinks is a performance art.

On the occasion of “Town In A Lake” screening at the exground filmfest, we talk to him about his cooperation with Lav Diaz and Khavn, the film in detail, casting, Filippino cinema and other topics

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Matangtubig is a quiet rural town, whose political leadership and police claim that zero crimes occur there. However, when two girls go missing, with the one turning up a few days later dead and the other nowhere to be found, the small town goes in an uproar. Journalists from all over the country come to the area to follow the story, the woman who is president of the village tries to keep the balance and to exemplify her leadership, while a lot of the villagers do not want to cancel the annual festival, which is scheduled to take place shortly after the incident. As the police and many of the villagers comb the forests surrounding the area to find the girl, a man who has witnessed the crime is struggling to decide whether he should go to the authorities, since he is afraid for his own family. Lastly, when some...