Filipino filmmaker JT Trinidad’s ‘Honey, My Love, So Sweet’ to world premiere at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival
Filipino filmmaker JT Trinidad’s ‘Honey, My Love, So Sweet’ to world premiere at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival
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A tender, aching coming-of-age story amidst Manila ruins is set to premiere at one of Europe’s most respected film festivals. “Honey, My Love, So Sweet”, written and directed by Cebu-based filmmaker JT Trinidad, joins the Pardi di Domani - Concorso Internazionale section of the 78th Locarno Film Festival this August 2025, marking its world premiere.
The film follows Life, an androgynous child navigating the beginnings of first love and heartbreak against the backdrop of a once-grand cinema at the heart of Manila. They develop a quiet friendship with Gab, the projectionist’s son, and a growing yearning for Marco, the projectionist himself. Through dusty seats and pirated movies, Life begins to confront early truths about love, identity, and the profound search for belonging.
Set at the historic Times Theater in Manila, Honey, My Love, So Sweet reminds that places like this once grand cinema remains a significant space for new beginnings born from culture and collective memory. This homage to vanishing spaces also stands as the sole Southeast Asian short in this year’s festival run with Trinidad being only the fourth Filipino director to be ever selected at Locarno, succeeding Lav Diaz, Carlo Francisco Manatad, and Joanne Cesario.
Trinidad’s previous short film, "the river that never ends" won Best Southeast Asian Short at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival, screened at BFI London Film Festival 2024, and is now streaming on The Criterion Collection. In 2024, they also received the Ani ng Dangal from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
At its core, “Honey, My Love, So Sweet” is a cinematic elegy to vanishing spaces and unheard emotions. With its upcoming premiere at Locarno, known for launching some of world cinema’s emerging yet most daring voices, the film marks not just a milestone for Trinidad, but a quiet victory for all stories told on the margins.
