GUIDE: QCinema International Film Festival 2024 Lineup

(SPOT.ph) There's no better way to expose yourself to new cultures, industries, and realities than through watching the work of brilliant directors at international film festivals. The QCinema International Film Festival 2024 is a convergence of both local and international talent in filmmaking, and whether you're a budding cineaste or a seasoned cinephile, you don't want to to miss the chance to catch the best of the best. Here's everything you need to know about the fest.

The film festival will run from November 8 to 17 in selected theaters across Metro Manila. Ticket prices start at P300 and screenings will be scattered throughout Gateway, Power Plant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza, Trinoma, and Robinsons Magnolia.

Also read: Must-Watch Movies This November 2024

Get to know the movies at QCinema International Film Festival 2024

This year's QCinema International Film Festival has more films and an additional category, so you're sure to find something right up your alley.

Screen International

The highly anticipated section of QCinema 2024, Screen International, showcases 10 films from world-renowned directors.

Included in the lineup are Afternoons of Solitude by Albert Serra and When Fall is Coming by François Ozon, which both won at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia, Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes, Simon of the Mountain by Federico Luis, and Anora by Sean Baker—four big winners from the Cannes—are also part of this section.

Rounding out the lineup are Phantosmia by Lav Diaz, The End by Joshua Oppenheimer, and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre de la Patellièr and Matthieu Delaporte, fresh from their Venice world premieres.

Asian Next Wave

Asian films flourished this year, especially from emerging directors at the onset of their careers. Seven films make up this year's Asian Next Wave, which include Don’t Cry Butterfly by Dương Diệu Linh, Pierce by Nelicia Low, Mistress Dispeller by Elizabeth Lo, Happyend by Neo Sora, Tale of the Land by Loeloe Hendra, Viet and Nam by Truong Minh Quy, Moneyslapper by Bor Ocampo.

Special Screenings

Not every film in the festival can fall into a cateogry, but there's room for them all the same. The Special Screenings section collects four Filipino films; An Errand by Dominic Baekart, If My Lover Were a Flower by Kaung Zan, A Thousand Forests by Hanz Florentino, and Lost Sabungeros by Bryan Brazil.

Before Midnight

Motel Destino by Karim Aïnouz, Gazer by Ryan J. Sloan, Infinite Summer by Miguel Llansó, A Samurai in Time by Junichi Yasuda, and The Wailing by Pedro Martin-Calero make up the Before Midnight section, which explores tales of the fantastic, supernatural, and the powers be that emerge as night falls.

New Horizons

It's always interesting to see what new faces in the world of filmmaking come up with in the first few years of their career. New Horizon nurtures directing debuts and second features, serving as a space for ideas and visions to incubate.

Included in the lineup are Blue Sun Palace by Constance Tsang, Cu Li Never Cries by Phạm Ngọc Lân, Santosh by Sandhya Suri, The Major Tones by Ingrid Pokropek, and Toxic by Saule Bliuvaite.

RainbowQC

Diverse stories of identity, love, and community take root and flourish in RainbowQC, the film festival's section dedicated to celebrating LGBTQIA+ films from queer cinema around the globe.

Five films comprise the section this year; Baby by Marcelo Caetano, The Balconettes by Noémie Merlant, My Sunshine by Hiroshi Okuyama, Pooja, Sir by Deepak Rauniyar, and Sebastian by Mikko Mäkelä.

QCinema Selects

If you're on the lookout from something new and exciting, look no further than QCinema Selects. Ghost Cat Anzu by Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita (QCinema’s first anime film), No Other Land by Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, and Basel Adra, Shahid by Narges Kalhor, Sujo by Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero, The Sparrow In The Chimney by Ramon Zürcher, and Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In by Soi Cheang make up the section.

Contemporary Italian Cinema

Co-presented by the Italian Embassy and the Asian Film Festival, Rome, the Contemporary Italian Cinema section serves up a cross-section of current Italian film landscape, featuring commercial hits, festival darlings, and arthouse gems.

Antonio and Marco Manetti bring us Diabolik, while Matteo Garrone presents Io Capitano. There's also Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara by Marco Bellocchio and My Summer with Irene from Carlo Sironi.

QCLokal

Heading back to the Philippines is QCLokal, an exhibition from local filmmakers that also includes Shorts Expo, a series of new short films that push envelope in the field of storytelling through moving pictures.

Films in the section include Room in a Crowd by John Torres, Rizal’s Makamisa: Phantasm of Revenge by Khavn. Under the Shorts Expo, you can partake in the world premiere of five pieces; Brownout Capital by Pabelle Manikan, Forgetting Clara by Nicole Matti, May Puso ba ang Manika? by Shiri de Leon, Objects Do Not Randomly Fall from the Sky by Maria Estela Paiso, and Yung Huling Swimming Reunion Before Life Happens by Glenn Barit. This will also be the Southeast Asian premiere of Invisible Labor by Joanne Cesario.

QCShorts International

Don't leave the shorts out, 12 of which are part of the QCShorts International section this year. Competing in the section are Alaga by Nicole Rosacay, Kinakausap ni Celso ang Diyos by Gilb Baldoza, Refrain by Joseph Dominic Cruz, RAMPAGE! (o ang parada) by Kukay Bautista Zinampan, Supermassive Heavenly Body by Sam Villa-Real, and Water Sports by Whammy Alcazaren from the Philippines.

Southeast Asian shorts are also included in the mix; Asia are Are We Still Friends? by Al Ridwan (Indonesia); Here We Are by Chanasorn Chaikitiporn (Thailand); In the Name of Love I Will Punish You by Exsell Rabbani (Indonesia), Peaceland by Ekin Kee Charles (Malaysia); Saigon Kiss by Hong Anh Nguyen (Vietnam/Australia/Germany); and WAShhh by Mickey Lai (Malaysia/Ireland).

Also read: Studio Ghibli Films to Screen in Shangri-La for Free in November

QCinema screening schedule

Films from the festival lineup will screen from November 9 to 17 at Gateway, Power Plant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza, Trinoma, and Robinsons Magnolia. There are different films per day per timeslot, so make a list of flicks you want to see beforehand. The November 8 screening is by invitation only, so we'll exclude it from here.

Tickets are priced at P300 at partner cinemas.

Take note that the movie schedules can be subject to change, so check in with respective mall cinemas before you schedule a movie date with yourself or a someone else.

November 9

November 10

November 11

November 12

November 13

November 14

November 15

November 16

November 17

For more information, visit QCinema's official website.