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15 Must-see short films from the 13th QCinema International Film Festival 2025

These are fifteen short films you shouldn’t miss from the QCinema International Film Festival which is taking place from November 14 – 23, 2025 at the Gateway, Eastwood, Trinoma, Fisher Mall, Cloverleaf, and Robinsons Galleria, in Quezon City, Philippines.

A Metamorphosis by Lin Htet Aung – Myanmar | 2025 – 16 minutes

In A Metamorphosis, Lin Htet Aung transforms the uncanny and absurd experiences of what it is like to grow up with state television propaganda into a kind of counter-broadcast, redefining the compositions and narratives that defined them. This distorted, eerie broadcast explores the daily experiences of living in a dictatorship and the imagery you get accustomed to as a child, accompanied by a lullaby that will haunt you afterwards: Yee, lé-lé! Yee, lé-lé- (Koen de Rooij)

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A Very Straight Neck by Neo Sora – Japan, China | 2025 – 10 minutes

A woman struggles with a painful kink in her neck. As she revisits memories of a childhood friend, her body becomes an unconscious mirror, reflecting the hidden violence and contradictions that permeate her life and the world around her. (Mubi)

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Agapito by Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero – Philippines | 2025 – 15 minutes

It is the last day of the month in a bygone duckpin alley. Behind its walls is a group of pin setters. They practice a song-and-dance piece as they await the arrival of a special visitor.

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As if to Nothing by Pek Jia Hao & Ang Jia Jun – Singapore | 2025 – 20 minutes

After being evicted by the local gangsters, an old carpenter goes on a futile search for his missing cat. As he meanders through the forgotten people and places, he is forced to confront the incurable decay of the town.

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Before the Sea Forgets by Lê Ngoc Duy – Singapore | 2025 – 17 minutes

On Da Nang’s peninsula, where echoes of war linger, a gay tourist couple searches for a forgotten Vietnamese soldier’s grave, shadowed by a mysterious skate crew carving their own paths. (Mubi)

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In the Valley by Lim Han Loong – Malaysia | 2025 – 21 minutes

Young Lei must leave Ipoh alongside her mother, who seeks a better future. With her best friend Ze, she escapes to a limestone valley where nature’s whispers ease her fears of change.

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Kinakausap ni Celso ang Diyos by Gilb Baldoza – Philippines | 2024 – 20 minutes

After discovering a hidden clause in his work insurance, Celso, a factory worker, goes extreme and faces a life-altering decision, challenging reality to secure his family’s future.

Little Rebels Cinema Club by Khozy Rizal – Indonesia | 2024 – 17 minutes

Set in 2008, Doddy, a 14 year old boy, tries to recreate an iconic scene of a zombie film with his bestfriends using a handycam belonging to Anji, his sad and angry emo brother. (Mubi)

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My Plastic Mother by Amar Haikal – Indonesia | 2025 – 17 minutes

Eki, living by the landfill, searches for a memento to honor his late mother. Battling the relentless rain, landslides, and looming threats from scavengers and machinery, he fears her memory could be lost beneath the waste forever.

Ours Was A Timeless Night Burning by Lauviah Caliboso – Philippines | 2025

Two unacquainted daughters are forced to kill time together through demystifying pregnancy and watching an adult sitcom as they await their fathers’ return from a night of endless gambling.

Please P(r)ay Attention by Vasupol Suwanjuta – Thailand | 2025 – 25 minutes

Once full of dreams, a young couple now scrapes by without decent jobs after graduating from college. One day, after bringing home a ‘lucky tree,’ their lives seem to turn around. But for ordinary citizens, how much is a dream really worth? (PARK Sungho)

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Sammi, Who Can Detach His Body Parts by Rein Maychaelson – Indonesia | 2025 – 19 minutes

A man with a unique gift sacrifices parts of himself to aid loved ones. Following his passing, his mother embarks on a quest to recover the scattered pieces of her son’s body. (Mubi)

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Surface Tension by The Serrano Sisters – Philippines | 2025 – 20 minutes

An ex-competitive swimmer finds herself drowning on the day of a small-town wedding.

The Sleeping Beauty (Nang Norn) by Mattie Do – USA, Laos | 2025 – 17 minutes

The wife of a colonial governor confronts a devastating curse after her son removes a deathless woman from a thousand-year-old Angkorian temple in the jungles of southern Laos. (Mubi)

Vox Humana by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan – Philippines, USA | 2024 – 12 minutes

In a near-future world, strangers’ lives intertwine as they grapple with technology’s impact on relationships and identity, exploring profound questions of human connection amidst alienation. (Mubi)

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

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