QCinema 2024: This one’s for ‘The Gaze’
It’s every Filipino cineaste’s favorite time of year as the country’s most eminent international film festival returns (sing it with me): QCinemaaaa! A total of 22 short films and 55 features across 11 sections comprise this latest edition, with the catchall theme of “The Gaze.”
Spotlighting bold visions and uncompromising perspectives, the festival once again has curated an exciting lineup of some of the year’s best cinematic offerings from all over the globe.
Kicking off the celebrations of the festival’s 12th year, the opening film is, for the first time, a collection of shorts. Featured earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival under the “Directors’ Factory” label, the four shorts are by Filipino filmmakers paired with directors from different countries. These are Eve Baswel and Gogularaajan Rajendran’s “Walay Balay,” Maria Estela Paiso and Ashok Vish’s “Nightbirds,” Arvin Belarmino and Lomorpich Rithy’s “Silig” and Don Eblahan and Tan Siyou’s “Cold Cut.”
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Cloud” (his third film this year) will close the festival, capping a prolific year for the Japanese master in what many call a return to form. “Cloud” is Japan’s entry to next year’s Oscars for Best International Feature.
Screen International is the section most cinephiles are excited about, as it features acclaimed foreign titles that would likely not receive a regular theatrical run here, and many are eyed as favorites in the film calendar’s awards season.
Standout
Certainly a standout is Sean Baker’s “Anora,” the big winner at Cannes this year, with a star-making turn from Mikey Madison. Called a modern-day “Pretty Woman,” it’s about a sex worker who marries a john, only for his Russian oligarch relatives to intervene.
Other notables include Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine as Light,” which won the Grand Prix at Cannes; the seemingly requisite new Lav Diaz, “Phantosmia;” Josh Oppenheimer’s surreal musical “The End;” and Pedro Almodovar’s “The Room Next Door” with Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Two documentaries that deserve our consideration are Bryan Brazil’s “Lost Sabungeros” and Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal and Basel Adra’s “No Other Land.” Efforts by certain parties have been made to keep these from reaching audiences, so take advantage. “Sabungeros” was originally a Cinemalaya entry earlier this year but never got to be exhibited, and “Land” dares to present dimensions of the Gaza conflict that bigger media outlets ignore. These two are under the Special Screenings and QCinema Selects sections.
Also under Selects, Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita’s “Ghost Cat Anzu”—shockingly, QCinema’s first anime film.
The Rediscovery section is always interesting, and a great way to introduce older classic material to new audiences. This year, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth,” Marc Caro and Jean-Pierret Jeunet’s “Delicatessen” and Akira Kurosawa’s final epic “Ran” should thoroughly wow crowds.
The above is only a meager sampling. Other sections like Asian Next Wave and New Horizons focus on emerging filmmakers and new voices, Rainbow QC gathers stories with a queer focus, Before Midnight contains genre fare (horror, erotic, gonzo action, basically what you’d expect in the cult section of your favorite video store back in the day). There’s even a special section this year on Contemporary Italian Cinema. Not to mention the short film sections, QCShorts International, and QCLokal.
Truly a bevy of delights for the movie-minded, be sure to check out what’s in store and plan accordingly. Be on the lookout, too, for free screenings and filmmaker Q+As.
The QCinema International Film Festival runs from Nov. 8 to Nov. 17 at Gateway, Power Plant, Shangri-La, Robinsons Magnolia and Trinoma. More information, including schedules and synopses, can be found at qcinema.ph
