LGBT-themed short awarded top prize at QCinema film fest
A FILM about a gay teenager who is eager for the man he met online to reveal his identity was named Best Film at the 2021 QCinema awarding ceremony for the QCShorts competition on Dec. 4 at Novotel Manila Araneta Center.
Directed by Trishtan Perez, i get so sad sometimes won Best Film “for its keen observation of a generation’s ethos expressed through an intimate and contemporary visual language, arranged in an editing style that eschews melodramatic sentimentality focusing on the immediacy of online interaction and the instant gratification or discontent that can be derived — a warning of the dangers of the internet and social media as surrogate to real life bonds,” the citation read.
Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol (It’s Raining Frogs Outside), which follows a woman who returns to her hometown to confront a house that distressed her, won the Gender Sensitivity Award. Directed by Maria Estela Paiso, it was awarded “for its artistic and strong sense of individuality expressed in a unique work that arguably transcends any form of misplaced alibis, propagandas, battles, and victories. Letting a film be a film. Letting the work speak for itself.”
Skylab, which follows two troubled boys waiting for doomsday when a satellite falls to the earth, bagged the NETPAC Jury Prize. Directed by Chuck Escasa, it was awarded “for presenting through striking images a significant and poetic story told from the perspective of schoolboys in the ’70s, who fear the end of the world, but soon realize that the dark forces that can change their lives are much closer to home.”
Meanwhile, Miko Livelo and Mihk Vergara’s MIGHTY ROBO V, about a documentary crew’s discovery of the flaws of a government institute’s program, won Audience Choice Award.
This year’s QCShorts were produced with a production grant worth P350,000 with ownership of film rights. The other films included in this year’s lineup were Henry by Kaj Palanca, and City of Flowers directed by Xeph Suarez.
The 9th QCinema International Film Festival held a hybrid edition with theatrical screenings at Gateway Cineplex 10 and online streaming via KTX.ph from Nov. 26 to Dec. 5. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman
