A film made of photocopied stills and hand colored with highlighter pens wins big at QCinema International Film Festival.
Cleaners of debuting filmmaker Glenn Barit won best film, besting seven other films in the QCinema’s main competition section-—Asian Next Wave.
The nostalgic coming-of-age film Cleaners, set in school year 2007-2008 in a high school in Tuguegarao, also bagged audience choice award and best screenplay.
Two other new directors bagged major awards. Chinese Qui Sheng won the NETPAC Jury Prize for Suburban Birds and Rae Red brought home the best director award for her first solo-directorial work, Babae at Baril. The film, Babae at Baril, also won the Gender Sensitivity Award.
Janine Gutierrez, who plays the titular lead in Red’s film, got her first international acting award as best actress while Por Silatsa of the Laotian film The Long Walk won best actor.
Lee Chatametikool of the Thai and German film Nakorn-Sawan was recognized for his artistic contribution in film editing.
It is the first time QCinema pitted its local grantees against Asian directors in this competition section, Asian Next Wave (ANW) Competition. It put in ANW's wing the former cluster—Circle Competition, which was for the Filipino filmmakers.
In the QCShorts competition, Judy Free won best short film for Che Tagayamon, a recent UP film graduate.
Judy Free is about a young girl whose reality is intruded when her father, an overseas Filipino worker, brought home an animated doodle figure.
The Special Jury Prize was awarded to Bontoc-based filmmaker, Carla Pulido Ocampo. The comedy short Excuse Me Miss Miss Miss by Sonny Calvento garnered the audience choice award for shorts.
This year’s batch of winners is an affirmation of the festival’s theme, Rising Wave, which recognizes debuting and female filmmakers.
The international set of jury for the Asian Next Wave is headed by renowned screenwriter Ricky Lee. The members are Richard Bolisay, Toshiyuki Hasegawa, Phan Dang Di, and Claire Marty.
The QCShorts competition jury members are Sari Dalena, Jun Sabayton, and Benjamin Tolentino.
Also, for the first time in seven years, QCinema recognized the contribution of one of the living pillars of the film industry. The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Vic del Rosario or "Boss Vic" of Viva Films.
This 7th edition of QCinema is its biggest yet, with 73 titles contained in 10 sections. Twelve of these have received generous grants, which are three full-feature films, six shorts, and three documentaries.
The festival ran until Oct. 22 at Gateway Cineplex 10, Robinsons Movieworld Galleria Ortigas, Ayala Malls Cinema Trinoma, Cinema Centenario, Cinema 76 Anonas, and Cine Adarna.
Brocka, Bernal, and the City exhibition goes to QCinema
Through the support of the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the Quezon City International Film Foundation, Brocka, Bernal and the City, a special exhibition that features the interesting lives and impressive works of Philippine National Artists for Film Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, was on view at the Gateway Gallery in Gateway Tower Araneta Center as part of the annual QCinema International Film Festival.
The display continued to honor the legacies of two of the most iconic auteurs and introduce them to the new generation.
Apart from creating some of the country’s finest films and commencing the remarkable cinematic journeys of the industry’s leading actors and actresses, both Brocka and Bernal were known as street parliamentarians during the dictatorship whose narratives encapsulated advocacies, battled political censorship, championed film workers’ rights, shared comprehensive gender depictions, and demonstrated the power of the artist in initiating social change.
Curated by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Center for Campus Art Director Architect Gerry Torres, the exhibition once again examines how the two creative geniuses used Manila as a milieu that greatly impacted the lives of Filipinos.
Likewise featured was the original wide array of recorded interviews from the individuals who have worked with the filmmakers on and off the camera including scriptwriter Clodualdo del Mundo Jr., and actors Bembol Roco, Cherie Gil, Gina Alajar, and Ronnie Lazaro.
Film scholar Ed Cabagnot, directors Nonon Padilla, Peque Gallaga, the late Mel Chionglo, and Benilde Digitial Filmmaking (DFilm) Program Chairperson Jose Javier Reyes also imparted their insights. Piolo Pascual and Raymond Red likewise shared how the works of Brocka and Bernal motivated them as artists.
The installation was first featured at the DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus and was opened to public at the Gateway Gallery, 5th Floor, Gateway Tower Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City until Oct. 22.
