When two high school girls are kidnapped and one of their defiled bodies is discovered, a quiet rural town in Batangas province is thrust into a media spectacle that puts everyone on trial, and a fisherman struggles to admitting as witness. The townsfolk has to struggle with shame. In an attempt to divert attention, they put up a festival by the lake, unknowing of a sleeping evil that has to come.

A criminal cataclysm is born out of the acceptance of a lesser evil to refrain from acknowledging a greater hidden evil. It’s all connected to men’s struggle over ghosts of colonialism and the inherent evil in his culture and society. TOWN IN A LAKE sharply critiques mainstream press coverage, a deeply corrupt police force, and a disturbingly uncaring government. It’s TWIN PEAKS in the Philippines.

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 acolades 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.