THE QCINEMA International Film Festival will return to movie theaters for a 12th 12 months, with latest sections and programs expanding its reach.
With the theme “The Gaze,” the festival organizers invite audiences to explore diverse perspectives and latest ways of seeing the world through film. The festival will run from Nov. 8 to 17 and can feature 77 films across 11 sections.
QCinema, founded in 2013, kicked off its first-ever Directors’ Factory Philippines this 12 months, in collaboration with Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. The initiative allowed 4 filmmakers from the Philippines and 4 from other Asian nations to partner up and create movies, which might be premiered on the festival.
These 4 movies make up the opening night program on Nov. 8: Walay Balay by Eve Baswel (Philippines) and Gogularaajan Rajendran (Malaysia); Nightbirds by Maria Estela Paiso (Philippines) and Ashok Vish (India); Silig by Arvin Belarmino (Philippines) and Lomorpich Rithy (Cambodia); and Cold Cut by Don Eblahan (Philippines) and Tan Siyou (Singapore).
“QCinema may be the initial wedge to assist us break the glass ceiling of world cinema and create the trail to global recognition and respect,” Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte said at a press conference on Oct. 22.
“This vision of QCinema is now a piece in progress and is one major factor why Quezon City hopes to be designated as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Creative City for Film. When that happens, our city might be the primary in Asia to be given such a definite honor,” Ms. Belmonte added.
The closing film on Nov. 17 is Japan’s entry to the 2024 Academy Awards, Cloud by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, which previously premiered on the Venice International Film Festival.
ASIAN NEXT WAVE
QCinema’s primary competition section, Asian Next Wave, might be showcasing seven directorial debuts from Asian filmmakers.
Making the lineup this 12 months are three female directors: Don’t Cry Butterfly by Vietnamese filmmaker Duong Dieu Linh, the Grand Prize winner at Venice Critics’ Week; Pierce by Singaporean filmmaker Nelicia Low, who was Best Director on the recent Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe Competition; and Mistress Dispeller, a documentary by Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo, winner of the NETPAC award for Best Asian Film at Venice.
Other debuts in competition are Happyend by US-based Japanese director Neo Sora, which also recently premiered in Venice; Tale of the Land by Indonesian director Loeloe Hendra Komara, winner of the Fipresci prize in last month’s Busan; and Viet and Nam by Vietnamese director Truong Minh Quy, from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
The Filipino filmmaker competing on this section is Bor Ocampo, with Moneyslapper, which is making its world premiere on the festival.
SHORT FILMS
One other competition section is the shorts program. Last 12 months, it was divided into QCShorts for local movies given production grants, and QCSEA, for local and Southeast Asian movies which had already premiered elsewhere.
This 12 months, QCShorts International combines the 2. It includes movies from across Southeast Asia, with six Filipino short film grantees competing alongside the region’s best.
The local movies are Alaga by Nicole Rosacay, Kinakausap ni Celso ang Diyos by Gilb Baldoza, Refrain by Joseph Dominic Cruz, RAMPAGE! (o ang parada) by Kukay Bautista Zinampan, Supermassive Heavenly Body by Sam Villa-Real, and Water Sports by Whammy Alcazaren.
From Southeast Asia are: Are We Still Friends? by Al Ridwan (Indonesia); Here We Are by Chanasorn Chaikitiporn (Thailand); Within the Name of Love I Will Punish You by Exsell Rabbani (Indonesia); Peaceland by Ekin Kee Charles (Malaysia); Saigon Kiss by Hồng Anh Nguyễn (Vietnam); and WAShhh by Mickey Lai (Malaysia).
NEW COMPETITION SECTIONS
QCinema festival director Ed Lejano said that the 2 expanded competition sections might be joined by RainbowQC and Latest Horizons, which were previously just exhibition sections, to “flex in our region of Southeast Asia.”
“Now we have separate programmers for shorts now. We’re really fully loaded, doing what other big film festivals like Busan are doing, but in our own way, here in Quezon City,” Mr. Lejano told BusinessWorld.
RainbowQC celebrates LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, plus) movies, showcasing diverse stories of identity, love, and community with daring and authentic voices from queer cinema worldwide.
Its movies include three Cannes Queer Palm nominees: Baby by Marcelo Caetano, The Balconettes by Noémie Merlant, and My Sunshine, by Hiroshi Okuyama. Two other titles round up this competition: Pooja, Sir by Deepak Rauniyar, and Sebastian by Mikko Mäkelä.
Latest Horizons presents groundbreaking debut features from latest directors: Blue Sun Palace by Constance Tsang, winner of the French Touch Prize at Cannes Critics’ Week; Cu Li Never Cries by Phạm Ngọc Lân, which won Best First Feature in Berlin; Santosh by Sandhya Suri from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard; The Major Tones by Ingrid Pokropek, chosen on the Berlin Film Festival; and Toxic by Saulė Bliuvaitė, which won a Locarno Golden Leopard.
“We’re really spreading our wings to embrace all filmmakers, be it documentaries or shorts,” added Mr. Lejano.
EXHIBITION SECTIONS
Cinephiles also stay up for QCinema’s non-competition sections which give them a probability to catch titles that rarely see a theatrical release within the country.
One in all these sections is Screen International, which can showcase the movies of 10 world-renowned directors. Two of those are recent titles from the San Sebastian Film Festival: Spanish documentary Afternoons of Solitude by Albert Serra which won Best Film, and French film When Fall is Coming by François Ozon which won the Best Screenplay award.
The section may even have Cannes winners: India’s All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia (Grand Prix); Portugal’s Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes (Best Director); Argentina’s Simon of the Mountain by Federico Luis (Critics Week Grand Prize); and the US’ Anora by Sean Baker (Palm d’Or).
Completing the lineup are Lav Diaz’ Phantosmia which premiered in Venice, The End by Joshua Oppenheimer, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre de la Patellièr and Matthieu Delaporte, and Venice Golden Lion-winning The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodóvar.
The festival’s brand latest QCLokal section will highlight Filipino talents.
To be shown within the section are Room in a Crowd by John Torres, featuring a special live sound performance and stitched-together footage from the lockdown; and Makamisa: Phantasm of Revenge by Khavn, which won Best Feature at Lausanne, and was inspired by José Rizal’s unfinished third novel.
The festival may even have the Shorts Expo, which presents five world premieres of remarkable short movies akin to Brownout Capital by Pabelle Manikan, Forgetting Clara by Nicole Matti, May Puso ba ang Manika? by Shiri de Leon, Objects Do Not Randomly Fall from the Sky by Maria Estela Paiso, Yung Huling Swimming Reunion Before Life Happens by Glenn Barit, and the Southeast Asian premiere of Invisible Labor by Joanne Cesario.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS AND MORE
Movies to be shown within the Special Screenings section are Dominic Baekart’s An Errand, Kaung Zan’s If My Lover Were a Flower, Hanz Florentino’s A Thousand Forests, and Bryan Brazil’s controversial documentary Lost Sabungeros.
On the last film, Mr. Lejano told the press that “there may be a context for all the things that the festival espouses.”
“Whether it’s a provocative LGBTQIA+ film or an investigative journalism-type documentary, QCinema will at all times be a secure space for it,” he said. “We get to do what we wish because we don’t have any censorship. We classify our own movies. I believe that’s the best way it needs to be for all festivals within the Philippines.”
One other must-watch section that welcomes movies with fantastical, action-packed, or erotic themes is Before Midnight. To be shown within the section are: Motel Destino by Karim Aïnouz, Gazer by Ryan J. Sloan, Infinite Summer by Miguel Llansó, A Samurai in Time by Junichi Yasuda, and The Wailing by Pedro Martin-Calero.
The Rediscovery section, previously named the Restored Classics section, is anticipated to attract crowds. To be screened this 12 months are Delicatessen by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro; Cannes-winning and Oscar-nominated Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos, and Akira Kurosawa’s final epic, Ran.
This 12 months may even have a piece dedicated to contemporary Italian cinema, showing Diabolik by Antonio and Marco Manetti, Io Capitano by Matteo Garrone, Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara by Marco Bellocchio, My Summer with Irene by Carlo Sironi, La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher, and Palazzina Laf by Michele Riondino.
Finally, QCinema Selects will present a special collection of standout movies from world wide. Its lineup includes: Ghost Cat Anzu by Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita; No Other Land by Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, and Basel Adra; Shahid by Narges Kalhor; Sujo by Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero; The Sparrow within the Chimney by Ramon Zürcher; and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In by Soi Cheang.
Screenings might be held on the cinemas of the Gateway Mall, Trinoma, Shangri-la Plaza, and the Power Plant Mall. Regular tickets cost P300. For more details about QCinema, visit the web site at qcinema.ph or follow its social media accounts — www.facebook.com/QCinemaPH, twitter.com/QCinemaPH, and www.instagram.com/qcinemaph. — Brontë H. Lacsamana