In King Louie Palomo’s short film Nene, a retired painter tries to repair an estranged relationship with her daughter in the only way she knows how — through her art. The film also marks the last film role of the veteran actress Flora Gasser, known for films such as Annie Batungbakal, Kumander Bawang, and Batang Z, before her recent passing.

Released in 2020, the film made its rounds in the Canadian film fest circuit, where it bagged a number of awards, including Standout Director for a Short Film at the 2021 Reelworld Film Festival and Special Mention for Best Direction and Performance at the 2020 Dreamanila International Film Festival.

King Louie Palomo is a Filipino-Canadian director and producer. His most recent directorial feature, Stay, starred Canada’s Drag Race alum, Kendall Gender.

For more Filipino short films, watch Si Astri maka si Tambulah, Pusong Bato, and Contestant #4 on Act One. – Rappler.com

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Act One is Rappler’s platform for Filipino short films, empowering filmmakers and advancing causes. A new title comes out every month. Subscribe and watch on Rappler’s YouTube page.

As in any story, Act One marks the beginning.

The QCinema International Film Festival returns this year with a brand-new intensity as it programs much-awaited festival gems, local short films, and important restored classics.

Bookending the festival is the much-awaited screening of two acclaimed European films with notable performances by Filipino thespians.  The Palme d’Or-winning class satire Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund, which stars Dolly de Leon, is the festival’s opener. The closing film is Venice Film Festival entry To The North by Mihai Mincan, starring Soliman Cruz.

The festival, slated from November 17 – 26, 2022, will feature 58 films, including six short film production grantees, with seven sections of full-length films and three programs for short films.

A long and short film competition will also be held, and winners will be announced during the festival.

“It has grown bigger and stronger beyond our dreams and much sooner than our expectations. It is like the making of a film, QCinema’s growth has been a collaborative effort. While it started as a brainchild of mine 10 years ago, it took a whole city and the efforts of many sectors to propel it to what it is now, one of the country’s most formidable film festivals” says Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte.

Competition sections

QCinema’s main competition section is back. Asian Next Wave focuses on emerging filmmakers from Southeast Asia and East Asia with less than three features. 

Making the cut are Singaporean Oscar entry Ajoomma by Shuming He; Japanese Oscar entry Plan 75 by Chie Hayakawa, which is also a Cannes Golden Special Mention Winner; and another Cannes entry, South Korean film Return to Seoul by Davy Chou.

Also in competition are the Thai film Arnold is a Model Student by Sorayos Prapapan, which had its world premiere at Locarno, and Autobiography, by first-time Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak, which won the FIPRESCI Prize in Venice this year.

The last two films competing are Filipino titles. 12 Weeks by Anna Isabelle Matutina is the NETPAC Award in the recent Cinemalaya, which stars Max Eigenmann who went home with the Best Actress award. Elehiya by Loy Arcenas, for its world premiere, showcases the late iconic actress Cherie Gil, in her last screen performance.

Another competition section is QCShorts. The films competing in this section received production grants of P350,000.

These films are Ang Pagliligtas sa Dalagang Bukid by Jaime Morados, BOLD EAGLE by Whammy Alcazaren, Luzonensis mula 7 hanggang 9 by Glenn Barit, Mga Tigre ng Infanta by Rocky De Guzman Morilla, Ngatta Naddaki y Nuang? (Why did the Carabao cross the Carayan?) by Austin Tan, and sa ilog na hindi nagtatapos by JT Trinidad.

Exhibition sections

QCinema’s specially-curated section, Screen International, showcases the world’s renowned directors whose distinctive styles make their acclaimed works undeniably their own.

It features the film of David Cronenberg, Canada’s body horror master, entitled Crimes Of The Future, which premiered in Cannes’ main competition. Also from the Cannes competition is Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO which was awarded the Jury Prize. Isabelle Huppert, who recently visited the country, joins the cast of this film. The film is also the Polish submission to the 95th Academy Awards.

Arthouse favorite Hong Sang-soo graces QCinema’s screens for the first time with his latest oeuvre, Walk Up. The opus of one of Costa Rica’s renowned filmmakers, Valentina Maurel will also be at the festival. I Have Electric Dreams scored multiple wins in Locarno, winning Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Director awards.

Denmark-based Iranian film director and screenwriter Ali Abbasi’s third feature film Holy Spider will also be screened at QCinema. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. It won Zar Amir Ebrahimi the festival’s Best Actress Award. It was also selected as the Danish entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.

The 2022 drama film of Austrian filmmaker Marie Kreutzer, Corsage, is also a Screen International selection. It had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section.

Close by Lukas Dhont, a French-language Belgian drama film, also premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, to critical acclaim and the Grand Prix. It is Belgium’s submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.

The New Horizon section heralds new directors and their acclaimed new works in QCinema’s New Horizon section. 

The section features Saint Omer by Alice Diop, Venice Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize winner and French Oscar entry; Utama by Alejandro Loayza Grisi, Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Bolivia’s entry to the 95th Academy Awards; and Next Sohee by July Jung, the closing film of Cannes Critic’s Week. 

Two films from Germany are also in this section. The comedy The Ordinaries by Sophie Linnenbaum and the offbeat fantasy film Piaffe by Anne Oren. Piaffe won the Junior Jury International Award in Locarno. 

One of QCinema’s most distinctive sections on this side of Southeast Asia is RainbowQC.

Joyland by Saim Sadiq is both the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and the Queer Palm winner in this year’s Cannes. It is Pakistan’s first film to premiere in Cannes and is also the country’s entry to the Oscar Best International Feature category. 

Angry Son, by Japanese director Kasho Iizuka, was awarded the Grand Prix Award in the Osaka Asian Film Festival. 

Also in the RainbowQC section are You Can Live Forever, by Canadian co-directors Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts; and the erotically-charged Stranger By The Lake by Alain Guiraudie, 2013 Cannes Un Certain Regard Best Director award winner. It was mentioned on multiple top-ten lists of the best films of that year.

Other similarly-themed titles in a parallel LGBT+ section co-sponsored by the French Embassy Manila are Portrait of a Lady on Fire,  Billie And Emma, The Divide, and a shorts anthology, RainbowQC Shorts. 

The 2019 French historical romantic drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma, is the first film directed by a woman to win the Queer Palm at Cannes. Sciamma also won the award for Best Screenplay at Cannes. 

Billie and Emma is one of QCinema 2018’s Circle competition grantees. It won the Gender Sensitivity Award and the best-supporting actress trophy for Cielo Aquino. 

The Divide is the 2021 Queer Palm winner. 

#QCShorts 2021 Best Picture i get so sad sometimes by Trishtan Perez; #QCShorts 2019 film Isang Daa’t Isang Mariposa by Norvin delos Santos; 2021 silent film Alingasngas ng mga Kuliglig by Vahn Leinard Pascual; Dikit by Gabriela Serrano; and QCinema Asian Shorts film entry How to Die Young in Manila by Petersen Vargas are in RainbowQC Shorts program.

The Special Screenings section is another remarkable showcase for their Philippine premieres.

The films in this section are The Sales Girl by Janchivdorj Sengedorj, the top prize winner of the New York Asian Film Festival; Love Life by Kōji Fukada, Golden Lion winner at the 79th Venice International Film Festival; The Damned Don’t Cry by Fyzal Boulifa; and When The Waves Are Gone or Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon, Lav Diaz’ black-and-white new opus with frequent collaborator John Lloyd Cruz. 

Another must-watch section is Midnight Series which features three spine-tingling titles. 

In this section is Nocebo by Lorcan Finnegan, which stars Chai Fonacier. She plays a Filipino caregiver who knows traditional folk healing. The film guarantees Fonacier more international exposure.

Huesera by Michelle Garza Cervera is a Spanish-language supernatural thriller. It premiered in Tribeca earlier this year and won the Best New Narrative director for Cervera.

Lastly, British-Iranian director Ana Lily Amirpour returns to local screens with her latest cult hit, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, starring Kate Hudson and Jun Jong-seo. Amirpour is best remembered for her atmospheric vampire/western, A Girl Walks Home at Night, her debut film which premiered in QCinema’s 2014 edition.

Another section, the Digitally Restored Classics, features newly restored versions of unforgettable films by two celebrated directors. These are Mike de Leon’s classic movies Itim (The Rites of May) and Wong Kar-wai’s  romantic drama In The Mood for Love.

A new festival section that offers a first look at exciting coming attractions is also being launched this year. Advance Screenings features Nanny, 2022 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, and Argentina, 1985 by Santiago Mitre, which won the Fipresci at the Venice Film Festival and is the Argentine entry at the 95^thAcademy Awards. These films are in partnership with Amazon Prime.

Presented in partnership with Warner Brothers Philippines are She Said by Maria Schrader and Bones and All by Luca Guadagnino. Bones and All won the Silver Lion for best direction at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. Timothée Chalamet leads the film’s ensemble cast.  

The Asian Shorts program also returns. It is a curated program of must-see shorts in their regional premieres. 

The short films in this program are Dancing Colors by M. Reza Fahriyansyah; Lili Alone by Zou Jing, the 2021 Cannes Leitz Cine Discovery Prize winner;  Four Nights by Deepak Rauniyar; The Headhunter’s Daughter by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, the Sundance Festival 2022 Short Film Grand Jury Prize winner; The Water Murmurs by Story Chen, the Cannes 2022 Palme d’Or – Best Short Film winner; and Papaya by Timmy Harn.

Hybrid program

in10City screenings will be held both in-person and online.

Theatrical screenings for all films will be held at Gateway, Trinoma, Powerplant, Cinema 76, and SM North EDSA.

Online screening, which is exclusive for QCShorts 2022, QCShorts 2021, and RainbowQC Shorts, will be in partnership with VivaMax and will be from November 22 – 26.

Ticket prices for theatrical screenings are P300 while online tickets are P299. – Rappler.com.

Watching it now presents an important lesson: the cradle of knowing our history is knowing not to repeat it. But more than that, should we relive the same darkness, we’ll know from experience how to reclaim the light.

The film, directed and co-written by Kip Oebanda, recounts the life inside a prison camp during Martial Law. Glaiza de Castro plays the title character. Kenken Nuyad plays Dakip, a character based on the writer-director as a young boy. 

Liway premiered at the 2018 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival where it won the Audience Award and the Special Jury citation “for its timely subject matter and for its writer/director who courageously opened himself up to share with others his very revealing past.” 

Glaiza de Castro, Chuck Gutierrez, and the tandem of Kip Oebanda and Zig Dulay won Best Actress, Best Editing, and Best Screenplay at the 2019 Film Academy of the Philippines Awards, respectively.

For more Filipino short films, watch Contestant #4, Si Astri maka si Tambulah, and Pusong Bato on Act One. – Rappler.com

Act One is Rappler’s platform for Filipino short films, empowering filmmakers and advancing causes. A new title comes out every month. Subscribe and watch on Rappler’s YouTube page.

As in any story, Act One marks the beginning.

The film depicts the life of anti-Marcos dissident Cecilia Flores-Oebanda aka Kumander Liway and her family inside a prison camp under Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s rule. The film stars Glaiza de Castro, Dominic Rocco, and Kenken Nuyad.

The film won the Audience Award at the 2018 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The film also received a Special Jury Recommendation “for its timely subject matter and for its writer/director (Oebanda) who courageously opened himself up to share with others his very revealing past.”

Liway will stream on Rappler’s YouTube channel this Independence Day, Sunday, June 12. It is Act One’s first feature-length release.

For more Filipino short films, watch Pig’s Game, The Man Who Isn’t There (And Other Stories of Longing), and Pusong Bato on Act One. – Rappler.com

Act One is Rappler’s platform for Filipino short films, empowering filmmakers and advancing causes. A new title comes out every month. Subscribe and watch on Rappler’s YouTube page.

As in any story, Act One marks the beginning.

Pig’s Game premiered at the 2022 Piling Obrang Vidyo Film Festival where it bagged the Jury Prize and Best Screenplay. Ramada also won Best Performance. 

CM Bautista directed and co-wrote the film with Tristan Aguilar. Their previous film, Kalye N.V., placed second in the ARCSEA Children Empowerment Award and won People’s Choice Award in 2021.

For more Filipino short films, watch Si Astri maka si Tambulah, Pusong Bato, and Aliens Ata on Act One. – Rappler.com

Act One is Rappler’s platform for Filipino short films, empowering filmmakers and advancing causes. A new title comes out every month. Subscribe and watch on Rappler’s YouTube page.

As in any story, Act One marks the beginning.

Directed by Glenn Barit, Aliens Ata premiered at the 2017 Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival where it won the Best Short Film Award. The film also won the NETPAC Award for Short Film and Balanghai Trophy for Best Short Film at the 2017 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. In 2018, the film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at FAMAS and received a Best Short Film nomination at the Gawad Urian Awards.

In 2019, Barit would make his widely acclaimed debut feature, Cleaners. (READ: Revisited: The colorful and comforting world of ‘Cleaners’)

Glenn Barit is currently working on his second feature film about the infamous Calauit Island, a wildlife expanse where former first lady Imelda Marcos trafficked safari animals and displaced 200-some Tagbanua people.

For more Filipino short films, watch Si Astri maka si Tambulah, Pusong Bato, and Contestant #4 on Act One. – Rappler.com

Act One is Rappler’s platform for Filipino short films, empowering filmmakers and advancing causes. A new title comes out every month. Subscribe and watch on Rappler’s YouTube page.

As in any story, Act One marks the beginning.

In Amaya Han’s unnerving yet prescient fable, Handuraw sa Kahilitan, that feeling is captured, in vivid detail, as a young girl comes to terms with her irrational fear of people and human connection. Joy Love has anthropophobia or the fear of people. She is then persuaded by her only friend, Chickie, a Philippine Eagle stuffed toy, to prepare for her birthday.

What is seemingly a lurid look at trauma manifesting as ghastly visitors turns into a rather hopeful story about people looking out for one another. And much like in our fight against COVID-19, in Handuraw sa Kahilitan, just one person finding their way out of the woods makes going above and beyond worth it.

Handuraw sa Kahilitan received the Best Picture (Short Film) award at the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival in 2015. It bagged the Golden Philippine Eagle Festival Director’s Choice Award and Best Screenplay at the 2016 Singkuwento Film Festival. It most recently screened at the 4th Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino in 2020.

Amaya Han graduated cum laude from the University of San Carlos – Fine Arts in Cinema Program. She is currently taking up her Master in Business Administration at the University of Mindanao, and studying International Film Producing at the Busan Asian Film School International Film Business Academy.

For more Filipino short films, watch Si Astri maka si Tambulah, Pusong Bato, and Contestant #4 on Act One. – Rappler.com

Act One is Rappler’s platform for Filipino short films, empowering filmmakers and advancing causes. A new title comes out every month. Subscribe and watch on Rappler’s YouTube page.

As in any story, Act One marks the beginning.

In our debut ‘One Act’ video, Escobar looks back at her 2014 short film, Pusong Bato, and the things that have changed (and things that have stayed the same) in her filmmaking since. – Rappler.com

‘One Act’ is a series of videos that feature Filipino filmmakers from Rappler’s Act One short film slate as they share stories and insights into their filmmaking process.

Watch Martika Escobar’s Pusong Bato on Rappler Act One.

In partnership with the Movement for Good Governance (MGG), YouthLed PH, YouthVote Philippines, and Rappler, Ticket2Me, the country’s leading independent creator monetization platform, pioneers again by launching IKLI, the Philippines’ first super short film festival. 

Inspired by other microfilm festivals around the world, IKLI is an annual, online film festival initially featuring three categories: micro short (60 seconds or less) films, mini short (between 1:00-2:20) films, and super short (between 2:21-5:00) films. The festival motto is “The simpler, the better!” 

For 2022, the theme is “Bitin! We deserve better!” to draw attention, in an entertaining but enlightening way, to the many stories that can help convince Filipinos all over the world that we deserve better: better government, better healthcare, better education, better livelihoods, better transportation – even better love lives! 

Strategically aligned with the vision of the project and marking the commemoration of the 36th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, the following chosen entries will be shown on Ticket2Me and Rappler’s Youtube channels this coming February 25 from 12 pm to 3 pm: 

Micro short category 

• Looooongest Line by Giulia Saavedra 
• Submit by Francis Ner Marañon 
• Tuloy Pa Din Ang Training by Denzel Galindez 

Mini short category 

• Bitin by Maria Del Carmen S. Villapol 
• Mangha by Mark Terence Molave 
• Recurring Dream by Alecx Julianne G. Literal 

Super short category 

• Classroom 2022 by Diana Galang 
• Pila. Pili. Pilipinas. by Joseph Guinto Navarro 
• Si Jhemalyn at ang ‘Di Matapos na Paghahanap ng Karot Keyk by Ruka Azuma 

Play Video

A virtual awarding ceremony will also be held in March to publicly recognize and congratulate the winners in each category of the first IKLI film festival. 

Truly, it is a promising year for the country’s only fully digital end-to-end ticketing company, Ticket2Me, which serves live and online events. It is made accessible through its easy-to-use technology and aims to empower creators to provide value, bring people together, and build meaningful relationships.

If you want to know more about Ticket2Me and its services, send an email at ask@ticket2me.net. – Rappler.com

A prelude to Escobar’s unique filmmaking, Pusong Bato touches on themes that echo in her subsequent films, be it our willful surrender to a literal change in the name of love (as in Living Things) or how the culture of watching films provide a respite for our less-exciting existence in the real world (as in Leonor Will Never Die).

The scene inside the confessional perfectly sums up the film. Awoken to the absurdity of her newfound romance with a piece of rock, the actress, Cinta, played by Mailes Kanapi, confesses to a priest. Interestingly, the priest does not interrogate nor question. To love, he points out, is not a sin.

Pusong Bato premiered at the 2014 Busan International Film Festival and got shortlisted for Court Métrage at the 68th Festival de Cannes. It won Best Short Film at both Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Singkuwento International Film Festival the following year.

Martika Escobar’s debut feature, Leonor Will Never Die, recently premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit.

For more Filipino short films, watch Si Astri maka si Tambulah, May Dinadala, and Contestant #4 on Act One. – Rappler.com

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Act One is Rappler’s platform for Filipino short films, empowering filmmakers and advancing causes. A new title comes out every month. Subscribe and watch on Rappler’s YouTube page.

As in any story, Act One marks the beginning.