Veteran actress Cherie Gil’s passing earlier this year saddened many Filipinos. As a maven in the entertainment industry, Cherie touched viewers and colleagues alike with her professionalism, skill, and grace on and off-screen.
Cherie’s fans and younger generations will have the opportunity to see her again in her element with her final film, Elehiya, directed by Loy Arcenas.
Originally titled Mirador, Elehiya chronicles the downward spiral of Dr. Celine de Miranda (played by Cherie) as she tries to piece together the shattered remains of a childless marriage. Yet the production wasn’t without struggles, including Cherie’s passing and Miguel Faustmann this 2022.
“Death leaves behind many unanswered questions, some beautiful and some painful. I will always treasure the zest Cherie poured into her life and art. She is stunning in the film, and Elehiya will be her exquisite swan song,” Arcenas said.
He is also dedicating the film to Faustmann, adding that they subconsciously injected the loss of two great actors with the personal and production they experienced in the previous year.
Elehiya is among the entries in the 2022 QCinema International Film Festival. The festival, which runs from November 17 to 26, will feature 58 films, including six short film production grantees, with seven sections of full-length features and three short programs.
“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 ten 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,” said Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte.
Both local and international films will entice eager moviegoers to explore various genres, from love, horror, acceptance, and social issues.
As the QCinema International Film Festival celebrates a decade of success, moviegoers can enjoy several sections especially curated by the governing body.
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. Also returning to the festival is the Asian Shorts program, a curated program of must-see shorts in their regional premieres.
Another competition section is QCShorts. The films competing in this section received production grants of 350,000 pesos. Meanwhile, QCinema’s specially-curated section, Screen International, showcases the world’s renowned directors with distinctive styles.
Next is the New Horizon section heralds new directors and their acclaimed new works is QCinema’s New Horizon section. Other distinctive sections in the festival are RainbowQC and Midnight Series, which feature movies on the queer community and spine-tingling stories, respectively.
In the meantime, the Special Screening sections showcase QCinemas Philippine premieres. Banking on local films, the film festival also launched the Digitally Restored Classics, which feature memorable films by two critically-acclaimed directors.
A new festival section also joins QCinema this 2022. The Advanced Screenings will give moviegoers a glimpse of award-winning and latest films before they hit the box office.
Details about in10City, QCinema’s 10th-anniversary presentation, will be available at qcinema.ph, and updates are available on its social media accounts.