After months of deliberation, the jury now has the list of eight new movies that will be featured in the Circle Competition, one of the categories in the Quezon City International Film Festival (QCinema) 2016.
The eight new films that will be on display in the film festival include, “Ang Lubong ni Hesus” written by Fatrick Tabada and directed by Victor Villanueva; “Ang Manananggal sa Unit 22B” written by Jen Chuaunsu and directed by Prime Cruz; “Baboy Halas” directed by Bagane Fiola; “Best. Partee. Ever.” directed by HF Yambao; “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus” by Dwein Baltazar; “Hinulid” by Kristian Cordero; “Purgatoryo” directed by Roderick Cabrido; and “Women of the Weeping River” by Sheron Dayoc.
The selection process was facilitated by the Quezon City Film Development Commission (QCFDC), an organization formed by Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte to promulgate arts and culture in Quezon City.
The homegrown filmmaking talents will be given a grant amounting to a total of Php1 million. The QCinema grant is one of a kind because it allows filmmakers to own the rights to their movies.
Circle Competition Movie Lineup
“Ang Lubong ni Hesus” is a Cebuano comedy-drama road film by award-winning Filipino film director Victor Louie Villanueva. The movie shows how the status quo of a dysfunctional and emotionally bankrupted family headed by Isay, a single mother, takes a wild turn upon receiving word that her ex-husband, Hesus, has already passed away.
In “Ang Manananggal sa Unit 22B”, powerhouse couple writer Jen Chuaunsu and director Prime Cruz show the struggles of Jewel, a manananggal (creature who separates from its lower body and becomes a winged monster at night) who falls in love with a broken-hearted man. Can Jewel find true love or is she destined to live alone forever?
“Baboy Halas (Wild Boar)”, written and directed by Bagane Fiola, is set in the vast mountain range in Mindanao where a Manobo family’s survival is threatened by the sudden appearance of a white pig near an enchanted waterfalls. The Hunter becomes so entranced by the pig that he could no longer distinguish right from wrong—fantasy and reality. As his mind descends into madness, he plunges into the enchanted river where it all began, never again to be seen as the person he once was.
In the “Best. Partee. Ever.”, first-time indie filmmaker HF Yambao narrates city jail goings-on through the eyes of Mikey, a young, discreet gay man from the affluent class who spends five years in a city jail while hearing his case for drug pushing. Mikey eventually finds himself as the ringleader of a group of gay inmates called “Gang-da” and together they survive the dangers lurking behind prison bars.
“Gusto Kita With All my Hypothalamus” by Dwein Baltazar takes the narrative to Avenida Rizal the once “downtown” of Manila, where the fates of four men intertwine: A pickpocket, a widowed old man, a university student, and a thrift shop employee, all connected by a mysterious beauty named Aileen.
In “Hinulid”, director Kristian Cordero trails behind a woman who travels to Cagbunga, Camarines Sur while carrying the ashes of her only son. She rides an old train that circles her universe like the tandayag, the primordial serpent known in the Tagalog and Bicol region.
“Purgatoryo” directed by Roderick Cabrido, tells the story of Ilyong, a man recently killed by the police after he was caught stealing. His death signaled the start of a story that showed the complex relationship of a gambling lord, a policeman, a funeral parlor owner, and her two helpers.
Internationally renowned filmmaker Sheron Dayoc showed his prowess in “Women of the Weeping River”, a film project that has received international development grants and a production grant. Satra, a widow living in the southern Mindanao, forms a relationship with an aging village woman named Farida to help her in holding peace talks with a rival family.
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