QCinema International Film Festival continues to pave the way for Southeast Asian filmmakers with a bigger and more exciting eleventh edition.

by Matthew Escosia
November 16, 2023

This year’s theme is “Elevated”, and with new sections and programs set to be introduced, it is gearing up to become the festival’s most promising run yet. QCinema 2023 is happening this November 17 to 29, with Yorgos Lanthimos' Venice International Film Festival Golden Lion winner "Poor Things" and Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen's "The Breaking Ice" (Singapore's entry to the 2024 Academy Awards) bookending the festival as the Opening and Closing Films respectively.

Competition Sections

The Asian Next Wave, QCinema’s main competition section will have 10 directorial debuts from Asian filmmakers, all vying for a Pylon Award. These are Abang Adik by Jin Ong; Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell by Thien An Pham; Last Shadow At First Light by Nicole Midori Woodford; Love Is A Gun by Lee Hong-chi; Mimang by Kim Tae-yang; Solids By The Seashore by Patiparn Boontarig; Tiger Stripes by Amanda Nell Eu; and Gitling by Jopy Arnaldo, the lone Filipino film in the line-up.

Festival mainstay QCShorts features titles that received production grants from QCinema. These are A Catholic School Girl by Myra Angeline Soriaso; Abutan Man Tayo ng Houselights by Apa Agbayani; Animal Lovers by Aedrian Araojo; Microplastics by Lino Balmes; Tamgohoy by Roxlee; and Tumatawa, Umiiyak by Che Tagyamon.

And finally, QCSEA, the newest competition section, will feature 10 shorts from the Southeast Asian region. The participating films are Basri And Salma In A Never-Ending Comedy by Khozy Rizal; Buoyant by Toan Thanh Doan and Hoang-Phuc Nguyen-Le; Cross My Heart And Hope To Die by Sam Manacsa; Dominion by Bea Mariano; Hito by Stephen Lopez; I Look Into The Mirror And Repeat Myself  by Giselle Lin; Kung nga-a Conscious ang mga Alien sang ila Skincare (The Thing About Aliens And Their Skin Care) by Seth Andrew Blanca and Niño Maldecir; The Altar by Moe Myat May Zarchi; and When You Left Me On That Boulevard by Kayla Abuda Galang.

Exhibition Sections

QCinema 2023 boasts a total of seven sections for exhibition screenings. 

First up is Screen International, a section dedicated to film festival favorites from award the world. These include Ali Ahmadzadeh’s Critical Zone (Locarno Golden Leopard winner); Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Locarno Special Jury Prize winner); Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist (Venice Grand Jury Prize and FIPRESCI Award winner); Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (Cannes Jury Prize winner at the Palme d'Or); Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days (Cannes Prize of the Ecumenical winner); Trần Anh’s The Taste of Things (Cannes Best Director winner); Christian Petzold’s Afire (Berlin Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winner); Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers and Ena Sendijarević’s Sweet Dreams.

In the New Horizons section, five directorial debuts complete the line-up, which is comprised of Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir’s City Of Wind; Victor Iriarte’s Foremost By Night; Charlotte Regan’s Scrapper; Delphine Girard’s Through The Night; and Jeremias Nyangoen’s Women From Rote Island.

The much-awaited Restored Classics section announced exciting screenings of the 4K remastered prints of Wong Kar-wai classics Chungking Express and Fallen Angels; Robert Clouse’s Enter the Dragon by Robert Clouse; and Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. 

QCinema’s RainbowQC section will be premiering four new films featuring diverse stories and voices, including Vuk Langulov-Klotz’s Mutt; Ira Sachs’ Passages; François Ozon’s Peter Von Kant; and Michał Englert and Małgorzata Szumowska’s Woman Of…. 

The Before Midnight section is also returning. Its 2023 lineup includes We Jun Cho’s Hungry Ghost Diner; Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s Femme; Junta Yamaguchi’s River; and Pascal Plante’s Red Rooms.

QCinema’s documentary section QCDox headlines three real-life stories. The participating films are Joseph Mangat’s Divine Factory; Miko Revereza’s Nowhere Near; and Khavn’s National Anarchist: Lino Brocka.

On top of these, a Special Screening section was unveiled, comprised of Lav Diaz’s Truths of the Lake; Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible: Straight Cut; Moshe Rosenthal’s Karaoke; Wei Shujun’s Only the River Flows; Paris Zarcilla’s Raging Grace; and Pedro Almodovar’s Strange Way of Life and The Human Voice.

Schedule and Tickets 

The 2023 edition of QCinema International Film Festival will be held at the cinemas of Gateway Mall, Robinsons Magnolia, UP Town Center, Shangri-la Plaza, and Power Plant Mall. 

Schedules will be revealed shortly before the festival proper at their official website. Tickets will be sold at Php 250 (Regular price; Discounts will be provided to students, seniors and Quezon City citizens).

For more details about QCinema International Film Festival, visit their official website at qcinema.ph.