QCinema International Film Festival kicks off this week, so you better save the dates and plan your whole week ahead!
Running from October 19 to 28 at the Gateway Cineplex, Robinsons Galleria Movieworld, Trinoma Cinema, UP Town Center Cinema, and Cinematheque Center Manila (October 24-28), this year's QCinema will be featuring films – both Filipino and foreign, new and old – that explore various genres and tell the many stories of humankind.
The festival opens with the first fully-painted film Loving Vincent and closes with the digitally-remastered version of Mike De Leon's Batch '81.
Single film tickets are priced at P150 and may be purchased at the cinema ticket outlets. Those who would like to buy festival passes, however, may do so via QCinema's website and Facebook page.
Festival Pass 10 is priced at P1640, which admits festival-goers to 10 film screenings and is inclusive of a QCinema shirt, eco-bag, ballpen, notebook, and sanitizer. Festival Pass 5, on the other hand, is at P830, which admits festival-goer to 5 film screenings and is inclusive of a QCinema shirt, drawstring bag, coaster, and sanitizer.
Ready to go all-out for the love of film? Here's your guide to everything that will be shown this year:
CIRCLE COMPETITION
1. Balangiga: Howling Wilderness
Directed by: Khavn de la Cruz
Balangiga tells the story of 8-year-old Kulas who lived in 1901 Balangiga. He flees with his grandfather and their carabao to try and escape the "Kill & Burn" order that was being implemented by General Smith. When he finds an infant in the middle of a sea of corpses, the two boys then begins the struggle of surviving the American occupation.
2. Dapol Tan Payawar na Tayug 1931 (The Ashes and Ghosts of Tayug 1931)
Directed by: Christopher Gozum
Set in Pangasinan, Dapol Tan Payawar Na Tayug 1931 follows the story of rebel leader Pedro Calosa and the Tayug Colorum Uprising of 1931. The events are retold from three sources: a silent film on Calosa's return to his hometown in 1927; the story of writer F. Sionil Jose following the aging supremo as he searches for sacred cave in 1966; and a filmmaker who revisites the sites of the uprising for a film on the subject.
3. Dormitoryo
Directed by: Emerson Reyes
Dormitoryo revolves around 8 people, who although are living in their "personal galaxies", find that they all share the same fate and collective experiences.
4. Kulay Lila Ang Gabi Na Binudburan Pa Ng Mga Bituin
Directed by: Jon Steffan "Jobin" Ballesteros
Wanting to fix their marriage in any way, Aries and Chai signs up for a couples retreat program that gives them three days and two nights to resolve their issues.
5. Medusae
Directed by: Pam Miras
A documentarist's son goes missing when she films a story on the disappearances of the firstborns in a remote island. As she's searching for her child, she discovers a cult and the abductor who looks like her, a woman who her son claims to be his real mother.
6. Neomanila
Directed by: Mikhail Red
In Neomanila, Toto, an orphan who is recruited by a death squad, finds a mother figure in Irma, the group's leader. Their loyalties will then be put to test when they realize that one of their targets is a familiar face. The film aims to give audience a closer look at present day Manila's war on drugs.
7. The Chanters
Directed by: James Robin Mayo
The Chanters is a comedy-drama film which centers on Sarah Mae, the 12-year-old granddaughter of the last chanter of the Panay Bukidnon tribe. As her Lolo Ramon suffers the onset of Dementia, Sarah Mae helps him complete the last of the remaining 12 epics, a vanishing tradition in their tribe.
8. The Write Moment
Directed by: Dominic Lim
When he fails to get back with an old flame, a writer finds himself living in the scenes of a "romantic-hugot" script he wrote. He is forced to follow everything verbatim, or he's forced to relive the scenes in an endless loop.
QC SHORTS COMPETITION
Anya Iti Nagan Mo? (What Is Your Name?)
Directed by: Ice Idanan
Si Astri Maka Si Tambulah (Astri and Tambulah)
Directed by: Xeph Suarez
Babylon
Directed by: Keith Deligero
Kun' Di Man
Directed by: Phyllis Grae Grande
Link
Directed by: Mike Esteves
Love Bites
Directed by: Carl Joseph Papa
Pixel Paranoia
Directed by: Epoy Deyto
Sa Ngitngit Nga Kinailadman
Directed by: Kiri Dalena
ASIAN NEXT WAVE
- Dragonfly Eyes by Bing Xu (China)
- In Between Seasons by Dong Eun Lee (South Korea)
- KFC by Lê Bình Giang (Vietnam)
- Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts by Mouly Surya (Indonesia)
- Pop Aye by Kristen Tan (Singapore/Thailand)
- Snow Woman by Kiki Sugino (Japan)
RainbowQC
- Beach Rats by Eliza Hittman
- Close-Knit by Naoko Ogigami
- Fathers by Palatpol Mingpornpichit
- Mga Gabing Kasinghaba ng Hair Ko by Gerardo Calagui
- Signature Move by Jennifer Reeder
- Tom of Finland by Dome Karukoski
BEFORE MIDNIGHT
- A Prayer Before Dawn by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
- 68 Kill by Trent Haaga
- Bang Gang by Eva Husson
- Revenge by Coralie Fargeat
DIGITALLY REMASTERED SERIES
- Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos by Mario O'Hara
- Karma by Danny Zialcita
- High School Scandal by Gil Portes
- The Graduate by Mike Nichols
- Blow-Up by Michelangelo Antonioni
- All About My Mother by Pedro Almodovar
For schedules and updates, you may visit QCinema's official Facebook page and website.
Homestream image taken from QCinema's Facebook page.
