In its sixth edition, QCinema International Film Festival (QCinema) will showcase over 40 films worldwide ranging from award-winning films to original stories from emerging filmmakers.
QCinema will present the films through its nine sections and will open its first day at Gateway Mall with the screening of “Shoplifters,” a Japanese film by Hirokazu Kore-eda which took the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. It tells a story about a family of criminals scraping a living in downtown Tokyo. Their story takes an interesting turn when they decide to take a young girl into their family.
The festival continues its push as a world-class event through an interesting mix of new homegrown films and award-winning international films with the theme of “One City. To The World.”
QCinema features a section for independent films of new and seasoned homegrown storytellers which have been given production grants of one and a half million pesos each.
In its “Circle Competition” section, the lineup of films that were given grants include Samantha Lee’s “Billie & Emma,” Timmy Harn’s “DOG DAYS,” Dan Villegas’s “Hintayan ng Langit,” Gutierrez Mangansakan II’s “Masla A Papanok,” and Dwein Baltazar’s “Oda sa Wala.”
QCinema also features a section for documentaries that are provided seed grants of up to 300,000 pesos to the filmmakers. Documentary films “All Grown Up” from Wena Sanchez and “Pag-ukit sa Paniniwala” from Hiyas Baldemor Bagabaldo will comprise the “DocQC” section of QCinema on documentaries.
Among the sections to be showcased at the festival is the “Asian Next Wave” section which includes Yeo Siew Hua’s “A Land Imagined,” which won the Golden Leopard Award for best film at the Locarno International Film Festival, Bi Gan’s “Long Day Journey Into Night,” which won the ICS Cannes Award and will be shown in 3D in select establishments, Anoocha Boonyawatana’s “Malila: The Farewell Flower,” Huang Hsin-yao’s “The Great Buddha+,” Ashleigh Mayfair’s “The Third Wife,” and Kamila Andini’s “The Seen and Unseen” which won the Tokyo Filmex Grand Prize.
QCinema, in sponsorship with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), will also give visibility to noteworthy cinematic craftsmanship with a wide array of LGBT international films for its “RainbowQC” section. Among the featured films are Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon’s “Tinta Bruta,” John Tengrove’s “The Wound,” Marcelo Martinessi’s “The Heiresses,” Christophe Honoré’s “Sorry Angel,” Yann Gonzales’ “Knife + Heart,” and Yen Tan’s “1985.”
Another section of the festival with several critically acclaimed films worldwide will be showcased in “Screen International.”
The lineup includes Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning,” which won the 2018 FIPRESCI Award at Cannes; Agnés Varda and JR’s “Faces Places”; Gaspar Noé’s “Climax,” where Noé won the biggest prize at Cannes’ 2018 Directors’ Fortnight, the C.I.C.A.E. Award; Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War,” where Pawlikowski won 2018 Best Director at Cannes; and Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s “Manta Ray,” which won the 2018 Best Film at Venice Horizons.
The “Digitally Remastered” section of the festival is reserved for iconic films of the 70’s and 80’s which have been digitally restored. Among the highlights are Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz,” Herbert Ross’ “Footloose,” and John Badham’s “Saturday Night Fever.”
QCinema pays tribute to the richness of French cinema by highlighting memorable titles in the “French Classics” section. Among the films in the section are Henri-Georges Clouzot’s “Diabolique,” Roger Vadim’s “And God Created Woman,” and Pierre Rissient’s “Five and the Skin.”
Five films from China, Austria, France, and Denmark, and Japan will take the spotlight at the “Special Screenings” section of QCinema. The five films featured are “Elephant Lying Still” by Hu Bo, “Ala Changso” by Sonthar Gyal, “Tomcat” by Klaus Händl, “La Priére” by Cédric Kahn, and “Come On, Irene” by Keisuka Yoshida.
The festival has a free screening that will feature children’s films from Denmark. They will include Ask Hasselbach’s “Antboy,” Renée Simonsen’s “Karla’s World,” and Esben Toft Jacobsen’s “The Great Bear.”
“Piercing,” by Nicolas Pesce, will be the closing film to celebrate Halloween and end the ten-day festival. The story focuses on a man dreams of executing a perfect murder and checks into a hotel room to accomplish his long-time fantasy.
QCinema will run from October 21 to 30, 2018, at Gateway Mall (Cineplex 10), Robinsons Galleria (Robinsons Movieworld), and Ayala Malls Cinema in Trinoma and U.P. Town Center.
Local screenings will run from October 24 to 30, 2018 at SM Fairview, SM Megamall, SM Manila, and SM Southmall.
About QCinema
QCinema is the official film festival of Quezon City, touted as the “City of the Stars.” It was established in 2013 by the Quezon City Film Development Commission (QCFDC) helmed by Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte.
Since its humble beginnings in 2013, QCinema has grown bigger, gaining traction in local and international film circuits for its roster of film entries. In 2017, it was recognized as one of the best film festivals in the country.
Visit qcinema.ph for more information.
