QCinema launches A New Filmscape: a hybrid film festival from November 27 to December 6

QCinema International Film Festival stages a hybrid festival with an edgy line-up for its special edition for 2020.   

Today officially marks the first year since the coronavirus, or COVID-19 was mentioned as a highly-contagious disease. Albeit disregarded by the whole world, we now foresee different ways of living our lives. In the past month or so, we have experienced four film festivals all viewed at the comfort of our home.

Hence, when Quezon City was at the epicenter of the virus earlier this year, it created a buzz among filmmakers and Filipino film festival enthusiasts on whether one of the most successful international film festivals this country has ever seen would produce favorable films this year. The answer is of course, it won’t, as productions have halted for safety reasons. But do read on as QCinema will still push through this year.

Known for its well curated films in this side of Southeast Asia, QCinema Special Edition returns with a slate that will either be streamed online or physically screened with a limited audience. It will take place from November 27 to December 6, 2020.

“Like many other film festivals around the world, we’ve had to adapt to the unprecedented challenges of 2020.  Factoring in safety concerns and restrictions, we’ve decided to follow the global trend of staging a hybrid film festival,” says Ed Lejano, festival director.

The festival’s socially-distanced and by-invitation-only screenings will be held on its opening day, November 27 and on November 28 at an outdoor venue in Quezon City.  

QCinema will also have a ceremonial turnover of the COVID-19 assistance grant it is giving to the Inter-Guild Alliance and will announce the winners of its COVID Completion Grant at the opening. The COVID Completion Grant is for chosen independent films forced to halt production and post-production during the pandemic lockdown.

Scheduling moved due to the pandemic

One of the challenges faced was scheduling the festival, says Ed Lejano during last Monday’s presscon. “Usually QCinema is held during October but of course we had to wait for the announcements of the GCQ and MECQ” and since this year would not feature any main competition films, this year’s line up would be a scaled-down special edition films of up to twenty films.

“Parasite” in Black and White is this year’s Opening Film

It’s not a secret that every year a Filipino cinephile looks forward to the QCinema’s opening film. From The Last Pinoy Action King in 2015 to The Handmaiden in 2016, avid viewers look forward to what QCinema presents each year. This year, despite logistic difficulties, will be a festive treat for it will be Bong Joon-Ho’s award-winning 2019 film Parasite in monochromatic form, which was earlier showcased at the Rotterdam Film Festival in January.

Episode 12 – QCinema 2018 (with Oggs Cruz)

Who ought not to click here for more info levitra on line? * People who are sensitive to testosterone and their growth is increased in the presence of this hormone. This buy online viagra starts working within an hour and remain the effect of it up to 4 to 6 hours. also allows the blood to stay for extended time ends. Many people are said to be going through erectile dysfunction since a long time but that does not stop you from making a cialis generico mastercard HUGE mistake! Anyway…”Then, just go on with your email. Tips on Safe and Effective Usage of Kamagra Medication Kamagra medication is generally considered safe for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. commander levitra

Three films to screen theatrically, and the rest will be viewed online

This year’s QCinema will follow a more socially-distant venue as it will showcase three fillms, including Parasite, to theatrically premiere for the first time in the country. On November 28, Raya Martin’s Death of Nintendo and Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features will screen via an outdoor venue in Quezon City. The films are by-invitation and will follow strict social-distancing protocols.

Identifying Features won the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival 2020. It also won in the same festival the best screenplay.  Death of Nintendo is the coming of age tale which had its world premiere at Berlinale 2020. 

After the screening, QCinema will host the book launch of Philippine Cinema by Gaspar Vibal and Dennis Villegas and edited by Teddy Co.

UPSTREAM hosts this year’s QCinema online viewing

The festival’s online screening will be released nationwide through UPSTREAM, the newly launched online Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) streaming platform. Tickets may be purchased from the country’s largest aggregator for online cinema ticketing, GMovies.

Highlighting its online festival are four QCinema greats.

QCinema 2019, 2018, and 2017 best picture winners stage a comeback.  These are Cleaners by Glenn Barit; Oda sa Wala by Dwein Baltazar; and Balangiga Howling Wilderness by Khavn.  The fourth is the big winner at the recent Urian award, Babae at Baril by Rae Red. 

Asian Special Edition

The Asian Special Edition includes the only PH entry at the 2020 Venice Film Festival and Malaysia’s entry to the 93rd Academy Awards. 

Genus, Pan by Lav Diaz is a look at how much human beings are like animals.  The film won for Lav Diaz the best director award in the 2020 Venice Film Festival.  Roh is a 2019 Malaysian Malay-language indie arthouse horror film by Emir Ezwan. 

Two feature films will be shown under New Horizons, QCinema’s program that puts the spotlight on first and second-time filmmakers who are receiving accolades from the international film festival circuit.

Song Without a Name is a 2019 Peruvian drama film directed by Melina León. It was screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It is also the Peruvian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Rom by Tran Thanh Huy, the first Vietnamese film to receive the New Current Awards at the 24th Busan International Film Festival, is also in the New Horizons section. 

Films under QCinema’s much-lauded and much-anticipated sections are also in the line-up.

What to expect in this year’s QCinema International Film Festival

This year’s RainbowQC section includes End of the Century and Suksuk.

End of the Century is an Argentine romantic drama film, directed by Lucio Castro and released in 2019.  Suksuk is a 2019 award-winning and critically acclaimed Hong Kong drama film about two secretly homosexual married men in their twilight years.  This film by Ray Yeung premiered at the 24th Busan International Film Festival. 

Lastly, Screen International section features three films that earned widespread acclaim in different film festivals.

The first film is a Brazilian drama screened in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Divine Love by Gabriel Mascaro. 

A 2020 Cannes Film Festival selection, True Mothers, a Japanese drama film by Naomi Kawase is also in QCinema’s Screen International.  This is Japan’s entry at the 93rd Academy Awards. 

The third, Corpus Christi is a Polish film by Mateusz Pacewicz, which premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and is the Polish entry in the 92nd Academy Award.

QCinema Special Edition 2020 will include online talks on the new filmscape and free screenings of QCinema 2016, 2017, and 2019 shorts.

More about the festival via qcinema.ph