12 Films you shouldn’t miss at the QCinema International Film Festival 2021

By Asian Film Festival on November 27, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

These are twelve films you shouldn’t miss at the QCinema International Film Festival (Philippines) which is taking place on-site and online (via KTX.PH) from November 26th until December 5th, 2021 in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

– Selected Films –

**Baboy Halas** by Bagane Fiola – Philippines | 2016 – 105 minutes
**Section**: NETPAC Reloaded

“Baboy Halas” by Bagane Fiola is about an indigenous family, one of the last forest people of old, and how they cope with the unusual changes in their environment including the imposing lifestyle and customs of the more sociable tribes on the plains.

“Baboy Halas” was recently included in the Gawad Dekada Para sa Mga Natatanging Pelikula by the Urian Awards.

Screening Dates:
Streaming via KTX.PH

Trailer:

**Drive My Car** by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Japan | 2021 – 179 minutes
**Section**: Screen International

Adapted from a short story in Murakami Haruki’s “Men Without Women”. A director’s wife was a playwright, but she died two years ago. When he’s invited to direct a play at a festival in Hiroshima, the director finds his chauffeur to be a stoic woman. The two share many rides, and as communication is initiated secrets and confessions are gradually exchanged. (QCinema 2021)

Trailer:

**Historya Ni Ha** by Lav Diaz – Philippines | 2021 – 276 minutes
**Section**: Special Screening

About the film: 1957. Hernando Alamada, Filipino vaudeville great and a former socialist cadre, fulfills the last leg of his performing tour on the Mayflower cruise ship. He knows that the Philippines is experiencing a bitter transition yet again; the much-loved and popular president, Ramon Magsaysay, suddenly dies in a plane crash. He arrives in his poverty-stricken barrio, his country’s state and future burdening him heavily, and at the same time, a deep personal turmoil confronts him. He plods on an aimless journey. Akin to the Filipino ‘bodabil’, he finds himself on the gate of the theater of the absurd, a descent to burlesque, madness, to stark realities, and, ultimately, an ascent to his own redemption. (QCinema 2021)

Screening Dates:
December 4th. 2021 | Saturday | Gateway Cinema 2 | 1:00 pm

Trailer:

**Lamb** by Valdimar Jóhannsson – Iceland, Sweden, Poland | 2021 – 106 minutes
**Section**: New Horizons

A childless couple, María and Ingvar discover a mysterious newborn on their farm in Iceland. The unexpected prospect of family life brings them much joy, before ultimately destroying them.

This film won the Prize of Originality, Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival 2021. This is the Icelandic entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards (QCinema 2021)

Trailer:

**Memoria** by Apichatpong Weerasethakul – Colombia, Thailand, France, Germany, Mexico, Qatar, UK, China, Switzerland | 2021 – 136 minutes – **Section**: Screen International

The Tilda Swinton-starrer film is about a woman from Scotland who begins to notice strange sounds while traveling in Colombia, Soon she begins to think about their appearance.

The film was awarded the Jury Prize at the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (QCinema 2021)

Trailer:

**Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle** by Arthur Harari – France, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Cambodia | 2021 – 165 minutes – **Section**: Special Screenings

Film revolves around a Japanese soldier who spent 30 years in the Philippine jungle, unaware that he’s been there too long that World War II is over.

This is the film’s Southeast Asian premiere and features Ms. Angeli Bayani. (QCinema 2021)

Trailer:

**Playground** by Laura Wendel – Belgium | 2021 – 72 minutes
**Section**: New Horizons

About the film: When Nora witnesses Abel being bullied by other kids, she rushes to protect him by warning their father. But Abel forces her to remain silent. Caught in a conflict of loyalty, Nora will ultimately try to find her place, torn between children’s and adult’s worlds.

The film is the FIPRESCI Prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival 2021 (QCinema 2021)

Trailer:

**Suburban Birds** by Sheng Qiu – China, Taiwan | 2018 – 118 minutes
**Section**: NETPAC Reloaded

About the film: Some ground subsidence has occurred in a suburban area and a team of engineers, including Hao, is dispatched to investigate the cause. After days of wandering around in the empty suburb looking for answers and carrying his heavy gear, Hao walks into a primary school where he finds a diary chronicling the story of a boy and the separation of what seems to be an intimate group. As the investigation keeps going, Hao discovers that this diary might contain prophecies about his own life.

The film won the Golden Carp Film Award – Chinese at the Faro Island Film Festival 2020. (QCinema 2021)

Screening Dates:
Streaming via KTX.PH

Trailer:

**The Girl and the Spider** by Ramon Zurcher, Silvan Zurcher – Switzerland | 2021 – 99 minutes
**Section**: RainbowQC

About the film: Lisa is moving out. Mara is left behind. As boxes are shifted and cupboards built, abysses begin to open up and an emotional roller coaster is set in motion. A tragicomic catastrophe film. A poetic ballad about change and transience.

The film won Best Director, Encounters, Berlinale 2021 (QCinema 2021)

Screening Dates:
Streaming via KTX.PH

Trailer:

**Vengeance is mine, all others pay cash** by Edwin – Singapore, Germany, Indonesia | 2021 – 114 minutes
**Section**: Screen International

About the film: In a society ruled by machismo, a hibernating “bird” becomes a serious matter. In a life of brutality, the sleeping bird is an allegory for a peaceful and serene life, even when the whole world tries desperately to rouse it.

The film won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival 2021. (QCinema 2021)

Trailer:

**Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy** by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Japan | 2021 – 121 minutes
**Section**: Screen International

The film is about an unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.

The film won the Silver Bear at Berlinale 2021. (QCinema 2021)

Trailer:

**Yuni** by Kamila Andini – Indonesia, France, Singapore, Australia | 2021 – 95 minutes
**Section**: Asian Voices

About the film: In her last year of secondary school, a bright Indonesian student is determined to pursue her education and resist getting married, despite the expectations of her community.

The film won the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival 2020. It is the Indonesian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. It is also the director’s return to QCinema since The Seen & Unseen. (QCinema 2021)

Screening Dates:
Streaming via KTX.PH

Trailer: