A thrilling new collection of independent short films from “QC Shorts” is bound to delight attendees of the 2017 QCinema International Film Festival (QCinema).
“QC Shorts” is one of the competition sections of QCinema which awards the “Best Short Film” and “Jury Award for Short Film” to the winning entries.
Now on its fifth year, QCinema is the only local festival that provides production grants for short films where the filmmakers own the rights to their movies, just like in its feature film
QCinema will be holding the world premieres of its short and feature finalists during its festival dates on Oct. 19-28.
Meet the directors
The “QC Shorts” slate of finalists is made up of both fresh talents and experienced directors from across the country.
Among the first-time directors are Joseph Vincent “Xeph” Suarez; Phyllis Grae Grande; Mike Esteves; and Epoy Deyto.
The other four finalists – Kiri Dalena, Ice Idanan, Carl Joseph Papa, and Keith Deligero – have previously made feature films. This year marks their return to short films, which is a unique form of storytelling distinct from their feature-length counterparts.
Compelling storylines
“QC Shorts” offers a diverse roster of films as directors and writers were given a free rein to explore different themes in their stories.
Ice Idanan created a light drama film entitled Anya Iti Nagan Mo? (What Is Your Name?). The film follows a six-year-old girl who gets lost in a cemetery in her parents’ hometown. Despite the language barrier, a local stranger helps her find the way back home.
The film Astri And Tambulah hails from Zamboanga. Joseph Vincent “Xeph” Suarez teamed up with Cenon Palomares to tell the story of Astri, a 16-year old transwoman in a relationship with 17-year old Tambulah. The couple subsists on the coins people throw at them when they perform their traditional dance by the sea. Everything seems perfect for the two. But Bajau traditions and a pact made long ago require Astri to marry a woman she hardly knows.
Director Keith Deligero and writer Gale Osorio meld action and black comedy in Babylon where two young girls travel through time to assassinate a barangay dictator to revise history.
Kun’ di Man is a feel good movie by Phyllis Grae Grande. Ipe and Saring are two blind musicians who sing in MRT Stations. They are in love and inseparable. One day, they get separated when Saring is forced to perform in another station. Ipe takes off to find her but she’s gone.
Link, directed by Mike Esteves and written by Jael Mendoza, is an erotic thriller. The sensual film follows a writer who was approached by a strange man who claims to be a character in her novel. The man tries to make sense of his situation as they walk along an empty street, but lurking underneath the words are their most violent bodily desires.
Director Carl Joseph Papa and writer Aica Riz Ganhinhin puts the spotlight on the young at heart in the film, Love Bites. A grieving old man meets a spirited old woman in a search. Together they learn that two halves make one whole.
Pixel Paranoia by Epoy Deyto zooms in on cyber crime. Kiko makes living uploading pornographic and graphic videos on deep-web. One day, Lily, his contact to the source, asked him to upload a video which origins they do not know of. After viewing the video, he gets the notion someone’s been watching him.
Sa Ngitngit Nga Kinailadman (From The Dark Depths) is an art house film by Kiri Dalena. A spiritual exorcism drives a woman to relive the disappearance of a young activist that took place years ago. But when prodded about the details of the tragedy, she sinks into herself and recreates a story that coalesces memory, delirium, and forgetting.
For more information, visit QCinema’s official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/QuezonCityFilmFest/