Around GMA

Article Inside Page

Six movie entries have been chosen to compete in the short film competition organized by QCinema International Film Festival.

The chosen films bested all the other entries and will receive a production grant worth P350,000 with ownership of film rights.

The competing films “spans a range of visionary stories - from nostalgic coming-of-age and topical LGBTQ themes, compelling dramas amidst urban and regional settings, to experimental fiction and wacky mockumentary.”

QCinema International Film Festival will take place later this year.

“It has been a series of pivots in these trying times where festivals all over have been hit hard and struggling to present new works,” said festival director, Ed Lejano.

“This year, we are bringing back one of our audience's favorites, our QCShorts competition, for them to look forward to this year, whether it will be theatrical or streaming.”

Here are the selected competing films that will be screened at the festival:

Photo by: QCinema International Film Festival

Skylab by Chuck Escasa is about two troubled boys, a satellite falling to earth, and dark forces threatening the world.

Photo by: QCinema International Film Festival

Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol by Maria Estela Paiso tells the story of Maya who is forced to go home to Zambales and confront a house that terrorizes her as frogs rain outside.

Photo by: QCinema International Film Festival

I Get So Sad Sometimes by Trishtan Perez is about a gay teenager eagerly waiting for a mature man to finally reveal his face after developing an anonymous sexual relationship with him online.

Photo by: QCinema International Film Festival

Mighty Robo V by Miko Livelo and Mihk Vergara tells what happens when a documentary crew covering the Philippine Giant Monster Defense Institute's Mighty Robo V program learns that the wrong people were hired for the job.

Photo by: QCinema International Film Festival

Henry by Kaj Palanca is about a teenager longing for another life when he visits a mansion's construction site to seek compensation for his older brother's work injury.

Photo by: QCinema International Film Festival

City of Flowers by Xeph Suarez is set in 2013, when the City of Zamboanga is celebrating the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, just before the Zamboanga siege. It tells the story of a pregnant couple trying to survive a drought, wreaking havoc on their flower farm and raising enough money for childbirth.

More details about the festival and the #QCShorts competition will be announced in the coming days. Visit QCinema International Film Festival's website and Facebook page to be updated on the latest news and announcements.

QCinema International Film Festival was founded in 2013 in Quezon City. The annual festival screens local and international movies, short films, and documentaries. It also issues grants to help creators fund their film projects into completion.

Last year saw the festival explore the online streaming route to complement a few physical screening on a by-invitation-only arrangement.

Some of the movies screened were a monochromatic version of Parasite, Death of Nintendo, Balangiga: Howling Wilderness, Lahi, Hayop, Babae at Baril, and Mulholland Drive.

Revisit the scenes at the opening ceremony of QCinema International Film Festival held last year at Gazebo Royale in Quezon City: