QCinema showcases Quezon City’s strengths on its 13th year

THE QCINEMA International Film Festival returns for a 13th year with new sections and expanded programs.

With the theme “Film City,” the festival will run from Nov. 14 to 23 and will feature over 80 films across 14 sections which will be shown in Quezon City theaters.

QCinema will kick off this year with the film Couture by Alice Winocour. Starring Angelina Jolie, it follows an American filmmaker arriving in Paris for Fashion Week.

Many of the selections across the nine full-length programs and five shorts programs will reflect on the art of filmmaking itself. These include films about cinema, stories about storytellers, and the power of moving images to reshape how we see the world.

“Dito sa QC, ang gusto namin ay ilapit ang dekalidad na pelikula bilang isang art form sa taumbayan (Here in Quezon City, we want to bring the art of quality filmmaking closer to the people),” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said at a press conference on Oct. 21.

Tickets this year are uniformly priced at P250. While previous years had one or two venues in other cities, this year all the screenings will be in Quezon City: at the cinemas of Gateway, Robinsons Galleria, Eastwood, TriNoma, Fishermall, and Cloverleaf malls.

Ms. Belmonte explained that QCinema aims to democratize access with its year-round screenings of films from previous editions of the festival, held at public schools, universities, and barangays in the city.

“Cinema heightens our senses, holds up a mirror that reflects our humanity, and, most of all, reinforces our sense of compassion for people whose lives at first glance may seem different from our own,” she said.

ASIAN NEXT WAVE
QCinema’s main competition section, Asian Next Wave, will be showcasing nine directorial debuts by Asian filmmakers.

In the lineup are four entries making their Southeast Asian premiere: Family Matters by Taiwanese filmmaker Pan Ke-yin, which was the Best Feature Film winner at the New York Asian Film Festival; Lost Land by Japanese filmmaker Akio Fujimoto, from the Venice Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival; The World of Love by South Korean filmmaker Yoon Ga-Eun, which received multiple awards at the Pingyao International Film Festival; and Ky Nam Inn by Vietnamese filmmaker Leon Le.

Other award-winning films in competition are A Useful Ghost by Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, which is Thailand’s entry for Best International Feature at the next Oscars; Luz by Hong Kong filmmaker Flora Lau, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at the Sundance Film Festival; and Renoir by Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa, a Palme d’Or nominee at Cannes.

Two Filipino films are competing in this section: Janus Victoria’s Diamonds in the Sand, which won Best Debut Film at the Udine Far East Film Festival; and Nigel Santos’ Open Endings, which won Best Ensemble Performance at the recently concluded Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

QCinema’s closing film will be the winner of the Asian Next Wave Best Film award.

RAINBOWQC, NEW HORIZONS
QCinema festival director Ed Lejano said that the various competition sections “look into the medium of film in the context of global realities.”

“We have a couple of films that deal with the situation in Gaza, with urgent issues faced by the trans community, with climate change as well. These are found in the various programs,” Mr. Lejano told BusinessWorld.

RainbowQC celebrates LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, plus) films, showcasing diverse stories of identity, love, and community with voices from queer cinema worldwide.

Of its eight films, four are from Asia: 3670 by Park Joon-Ho (South Korea); Bel Ami by Geng Jun (Taiwan, France); Skin of Youth by Ash Mayfair (Vietnam, Singapore, Japan); and Summer’s Camera by Divine Sung (South Korea). The other four titles are Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingoes by Diego Céspedes from Chile; On the Road by David Pablos from Mexico; Strange River by Jaume Claret Muxart from Spain; and The Little Sister by Hafsia Herzi from France.

New Horizons presents groundbreaking debut features from new directors: Amoeba by Siyou Tan, Blue Heron by Sophy Romvari, Brand New Landscape by Danzuka Yuiga, Chronology of Water by Kristen Stewart, DJ Ahmet by Georgi Unkovski, Lucky Lu by Lloyd Lee Choi, Manas by Marianna Brennand, On Your Lap by Reza Rahadian, and The President’s Cake by Hasan Hadi.

SHORT FILMS
Another major program is QCShorts International, which has been expanded this year to have 26 films from 19 different countries, curated by theme across five sections.

“It was a response to the staggering number of really good short films. There are also a lot of local films that premiered internationally which we wanted to welcome home, so it just kept growing,” QCinema’s short film program head Jason Tan Liwag told BusinessWorld at the press conference.

There are six short films that received the QCShorts 2025 grant earlier this year and making their world premiere at the festival: Hoy, Hoy, Ingat! by Norvin de los Santos, Ours Was A Timeless Night Burning by Lauviah Caliboso, RUNO! by Racquel “Lysa” Catolico and Jazmine Gin Pateña, Si Kara: Ang Babaye Nga Nag Daba-Daba by Dale, Surface Tension by The Serrano Sisters, and Yelo by Gab Rosique.

Films by Filipino filmmakers that premiered abroad and will have their homecoming are: Agapito by Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival; Baby Fat by Margarita Mina, which was a National Board of Review grantee in the US; Honey, My Love, So Sweet by JT Trinidad, from the Locarno Film Festival; and Vox Humana by Don Josephus Eblahan, from the Toronto International Film Festival.

The other 11 films in the shorts competition are from across Southeast Asia: four from Indonesia, two from Singapore, and one each from Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

EXHIBITION SECTIONS
Cinephiles also look forward to QCinema’s non-competition sections which give them a chance to catch titles that rarely see a theatrical release in the country.

One of these sections is Screen International, which will showcase the films of eight world-renowned directors. Two of these are entries for Best International Feature for their respective countries in the upcoming Oscars: Sirat by Oliver Laxe from Spain, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes; and The Things You Kill by Turkish filmmaker Alireza Kahatami from Canada, which won a directing award at Sundance.

The section has many films fresh from various international film festivals: Hamnet by Chloé Zhao (Toronto International Film Festival); Little Amélie by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han (Annecy International Animated Film Festival); and Once Upon a Time in Gaza by Tarzan and Arab Nasser (Cannes Film Festival).

Completing the lineup are Iran’s Divine Comedy by Ali Asgari, the UK’s History of Sound by Oliver Hermanus, and the US’ The Mastermind by Kelly Reichardt.

The festival’s new Dokyu Days section brings together a lineup of documentaries from around the world.

To be shown are Below the Clouds by Gianfranco Rosi, Singapore and the Philippines’ 10s Across the Borders by Sze-Wei Chan, The Road to Sydney by Benito Bautista, Treasure Hunter by Giacomo Gex, and The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania.

Meanwhile, the QCShorts International (Exhibition) is a non-competition section that features shorts from around the world. “Many of these either come from war-torn countries or have high screening fees — and we want to shoulder the cost so that more people here can see them,” said Mr. Liwag.

These include Japan’s A Very Straight Neck by Neo Sora, Palestine’s An Orange from Jaffa by Mohammed Almughanni, France’s God is Shy by Jocelyn Charles, Iran’s Razh-del by Maryam Tafakory, and the US’ We Were the Scenery by Christopher Radcliff.

QC SELECTS AND MORE
Films to be shown in QC Selects are the first two episodes of Erik Matti’s comedy series Call My Manager, acclaimed Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s new film Human Resource, Arjanmar Rebeta and Jeffrey Jeturian’s historical film Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus, Japanese filmmaker Hikari’s heartwarming film Rental Family, Pedring Lopez’s crime thriller Shadow Transit, and French filmmaker Thierry Klifa’s queer film The Richest Woman in the World.

On the overall lineup, Mr. Lejano told BusinessWorld that a great number are co-productions, which is a “growing trend in the last few years” that Filipino producers should consider.

“Many films are born from co-productions that you can avail of because you get bigger funding thanks to the international partners. It won’t be as market-driven, but it will run true to the vision of the filmmakers,” he said.

Another must-watch section that welcomes films with fantastical, action-packed, or erotic themes is Before Midnight. To be shown in the section are: The Garden of Earthly Delights by Morgan Knibbe, Rabbit Trap by Bryn Chainey, and Ugly Stepsister by Emilie Blichfeldt.

The Rediscovery section, referring to restored classics, will screen three films this year: Almost Famous by Cameron Crowe, Linda Linda Linda by Nobuhiro Yamashita, and Showgirls by Paul Verhoeven.

This year will also have a section to spotlight acclaimed German actress Sandra Hüller, co-presented with the Goethe-Institut Manila. Films to be shown are Requiem by Hans-Christian Schmid, The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade, Two to One by Natja Brunckhorst, and Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet.

Screenings will be held at the cinemas of Gateway, Robinsons Galleria, Eastwood, TriNoma, Fishermall, and Cloverleaf. Tickets are uniformly priced at P250. For more information about QCinema, visit the website at qcinema.ph or follow its social media accounts — www.facebook.com/QCinemaPH , twitter.com/QCinemaPH , and www.instagram.com/qcinemaph. — Brontë H. Lacsamana