These are ten short films you shouldn’t miss at the QCinema International Film Festival which will take place from November 17 – 26, 2023 in Quezon City, Philippines.

A Catholic School Girl by Myra Angeline Soriaso – Philippines | 2023 – 17 minutes
This is the first time Kaya Fuentes (Ora Palencia) experienced falling in love. As one of the finest students of an all-girls Catholic school, she is ungodly to develop a crush on Sister Agnes (Sharon Idone)—a nun who will soon be destined to a province faraway. Now more than ever, Kaya feels the need to confess before Sister Agnes leaves. (QCinema 2023)

Basri and Salma in a Never-ending Comedy by Khozy Rizal – Indonesia | 2023 – 15 minutes
A childless couple who work at a carnival struggle with the pressure put on them by family and society at large. Khozy Rizal pokes fun at societal expectations and finds the comedy in showing what it means to really love. (QCinema 2023)

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Bold Eagle by Whammy Alcazaren – Philippines | 2022 – 20 minutes
Trapped at home with his talking cat, BOLD seeks refuge in the strong arms of strange men as together they venture deep down into the nether regions of the Internet in search of true happiness. Caught in the tangle of technology and social media, he wonders to his cat about his place in the world. If he spreads his wings, can he fly? (QCinema 2023)

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Cross My Heart and Hope To Die by Sam Manacsa – Philippines | 2023 – 18 minutes
Mila (Jorrybell Agoto) is underpaid and overworked, but finds some comfort in the time she spends talking to a phone pal. But this burgeoning romance gets her caught up in a series of events that further complicate her situation. (QCinema 2023)

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Hito by Stephen Lopez – Philippines | 2023 – 22 minutes
In a fascist, dystopian Philippines, a teenage girl makes friends with a telepathic catfish. In this imaginative science fiction satire, director Stephen Lopez weaves a strange tale of mad scientists and talking animals from the threads of our current oppression. (QCinema 2023)

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I Look Into the Mirror and Repeat to Myself by Giselle Lin – Singapore | 2023 – 18 minutes
Director Giselle Lin talks to her sisters as they confront their parents’ impending separation, sifting through painful memories of a difficult home life, and examining the meanings of their given names. (QCinema 2023)

Microplastics by Lino Balmes – Philippines | 2023 – 17 minutes
A few ordinary days in the life of a lonesome 7-year-old who grows up to be a middle-aged man still clueless about where to find happiness. Not many humans are around him, only plastics that suffocate his world. Then, he meets a guy who makes his heart beat. Microplastics is a wordless short film about a world beset by materialism, and where the pursuit of happiness remains a mystery. (QCinema 2023)

The Altar by Moe Myat May Zarchi – Myanmar | 2023 – 10 minutes
A person confesses to their guilt over the drowning of an ant in a basin. In this Buddhist meditation, director Moe Myat May Zarchi shapes monochrome images into a mysterious philosophical text that examines one’s place in the universe. (QCinema 2023)

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Tumatawa, Umiiyak by Che Tagyamon – Philippines | 2023 – 9 minutes
A man remembers a bygone afternoon involving him and his grandfather as they traverse their old neighborhood into other parts of the city in order to pick flowers for school. From the narrow streets of the barangay, they arrive at the nearby business district where high-rise buildings stand and a seemingly out-of-place cemetery lies. It is a cemetery for the rich – with vast greenery and a peaceful atmosphere in contrast to the bustle of the streets outside. (QCinema 2023)

When You left me on that boulevard by Kayla Galang – Philippines | 2023 – 13 minutes
A Filipino-American Thanksgiving party in 2006 through the eyes of a teenage girl who is falling in love for the first time. Marked with specific detail, Kayla Abuda Galang shares what feels like a distinct memory of a young person trying to understand who they are. (QCinema 2023)

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For more information, please visit: https://qcinema.ph/