QCinema Film Festival reveals its lineup of local and international films for 2026
As it returns for its 14 year, the QCinema International Film Festival will feature yet again an expansive and impressive selection of films from in and outside the Philippines under the banner of Genre’teurs. The curatorial concept explores the intersection of genre filmmaking and auteur cinema.
The festival also continues to celebrate Quezon City’s distinction as one of only two cities in Southeast Asia to have received the designation of UNESCO Creative City of Film.
Leading this year’s lineup is the world premiere of Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw (Ella Arcangel: Awit ng Pangil at Kuko), the highly anticipated animated feature directed by Mervin Malonzo, which opens the festival with a distinctly Filipino vision of the supernatural, social realities, and the monsters that inhabit both. Based on the popular 2015 comic by Julius Villanueva, Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw follows the story of 12-year-old Ella (which is voiced by actress Bianca Umali), a young mambabarang who battles malevolent spirits while confronting the violence and abuses of authority plaguing her community amid the government’s war on drugs. This highly anticipated animated film was awarded the ₱1.5-million QCinema Project Market (QPM) Philippines Co-Production Grant in 2023.
Closing this year’s festival is Look Back, the live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed manga, directed by Japanese master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. Starring Natsuki Deguchi as Fujino and Aju Makita as Kyomoto, the film follows two young artists whose friendship and shared love of drawing shape their lives and creative journeys. The film premiered in competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it won five collateral awards.
Anchoring QCinema 2026’s Genre’teurs are its competition sections, showcasing emerging Asian filmmakers, bold directorial debuts and second features, LGBTQIA+ stories, and innovative short films from the Philippines and Southeast Asia.The festival’s main competition, Asian Next Wave, showcases some of the most exciting new voices in Asian cinema. The lineup includes:
1. 9 Temples to Heaven, directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse (Thailand, Norway, France, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar)
2. A Girl Unknown by Zou Jing (China, France)
3. Fujiko by Taichi Kimura (Japan)
4. Fruit Gathering by Aung Phyoe (Myanmar, Czechia, France)
5. Hearing by Lê Bảo (Vietnam, Singapore, Norway, France, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan)
6. The Burning Giants by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (Thailand, France, Singapore, Netherlands)
7. The World Before by Yoon Da-bi (South Korea)
8. Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw (Philippines)
Showcasing fresh perspectives and distinctive storytelling, New Horizons spotlights feature directorial debuts and second films by filmmakers pushing the boundaries of cinema. Competing in this year’s New Horizons are:
1. Angh by Theja Rio (India)
2. Baby Jackfruit, Baby Guava by Nông Nhật Quang (Vietnam, South Korea)
3. Beach Fictions by Lim Ha-yeon (South Korea)
4. Furies by Rami Kodeih (Lebanon, Brazil)
5. La Gradiva by Marine Atlan (France, Italy)
6. Sad Girlz by Fernanda Tovar (Mexico, Spain, France)
7. The Color of the Sun by Xavier Tera (Canada, Italy, Japan)
8. We Are Aliens by Kohei Kadowaki (Japan, France)
QCinema’s LGBTQIA+ section, RainbowQC, presents stories exploring queer identities, relationships, desire, and belonging across different cultures and experiences. The lineup features:
1. Big Little Things by Michelle Zhou (Hong Kong, USA)
2. Flesh and Fuel by Pierre le Gall (France, Poland)
3. I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming by Isabelle Stever (Germany, Ukraine)
4. Jim Queen by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané (France, Belgium)
5. Little Trouble Girls by Urška Djukić (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Italy)
6. Lovers in the Blue Night by Anuparna Roy (India)
7. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma by Jane Schoenbrun (Canada, USA,
UK)
8. The Riverbank (A Margem do Rio, by Matheus Farias and Enock
Carvalho (Brazil, Germany)
QCinema’s expanded short film competition program, QCShorts International, pairs the festival’s five QCinema grantees with some of Southeast Asia’s most exciting voices and storytellers working in the short film format, presented across four programs exploring diverse themes, perspectives, and cinematic styles.
Program 1: At Night We Lead Different Lives ventures in the double lives of humans in transactional relationships. Moving between magic realism, horror, fantasy, and national allegory.
1. And If Thuy Didn’t Exist (Et si Thuy n’existait pas) by Carlo Francisco Manatad (Philippines, France, Indonesia)
2. QCShorts grantee Body Works by Maki Makilan (Philippines)
3. Is This Desire? by Apa Agbayani (Philippines, USA)
4. She Said by Ivan Tan (Singapore)
5. Through the Cracks by Le Hoang (Vietnam)
Program 2: A Little Blasphemy Never Hurt Anyone features the most irreverent short films following humans reckoning with faith, body, and desires through their interactions with animals and beasts:
1. Bleat! by Ananth Subramaniam (Malaysia, Philippines, France)
2. Fruit (Buah) by Jen Nee Lim (Singapore)
3. QCShorts grantee Run Shirley Run! by Rodiell Veloso (Philippines, Japan, Thailand)
4. The Bovine Comedy by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (France)
5. The Dream Is a Snail (Giấc mơ là ốc sên) by Thiên Ân Nguyễn (Vietnam, South Korea)
Program 3: All Our Mothers Were Once Girls peel back the unlived lives of four mothers through the eyes of the children around them. Featuring women of all ages from the Philippines and Singapore, this program promises great laughs and many tears:
1. Grandmothering (Gandang Lola) by Kylechandler Bigay (Philippines)
2. QCinema grantee Maanaa Kanimo by Toni Cañete (Philippines)
3. Sana’y Nandito Ka by Clister Santos (Philippines)
4. The 4PLY Clandestine System by Natalie Sin (Singapore)
The QCShorts International program is Program 4: The Mountains Always Ask for More looks at our fraught relationship with nature and the histories it conceals and reveals. In this section are deeply political works from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia:
1. QCShorts grantee Agsangit Laeng ti Al-alia (A Ghost Can Only Howl)
2. Golden Island (Kota Emas) by Arief Budiman (Indonesia, Singapore)
3. Incident on the Mountain (Oupatevak Het Tam Phnom)
4. Obscura (Indonesia, Netherlands)
5. They Made Monsters by Jaime Morados (Philippines)
Complementing the competition lineup are QCinema 2026’s exhibition sections, presenting a diverse selection of acclaimed international films, notable cinematic works, genre titles, and compelling documentaries. Screen International showcases award-winning and critically acclaimed films from around the world, giving QCinema audiences the opportunity to catch some of the year’s most talked-about titles among cinephiles.
1. A Long Winter by Andrew Haigh (UK, Canada)
2. Fatherland by Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland, Germany, France, Italy)
3. Fjord by Cristian Mungiu (Romania, Norway, France, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, USA)
4. Makikiraan Po (Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors) by Lav Diaz (Philippines)
5. Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (눈 둘 데가 없네)
7. The Diary of a Chambermaid by Radu Jude (France, Romania)
8. Vintage Violence by Eugene Kotlyarenko (USA, Japan)
QC Selects is a curated lineup of films selected by QCinema, highlighting powerful stories, distinctive perspectives, and exciting cinematic visions.
1. 11 by Bebe Go (Philippines)
2. You Are the Film by Makoto Ueda (Japan)
3. Club Kid by Jordan Firstman (USA)
4. Fucktoys by Annapurna Sriram (USA)
5. I Grew an Inch When My Father Died by P.R. Monencillo Patindol (Philippines)
7. The Remotes by John Torres (Philippines, USA)
8. The Tigers (Los Tigres) by Alberto Rodríguez (Spain, France)
9. Look Back by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan)
Rediscovery presents landmark films from cinema’s rich history, digitally restored and handpicked by QCinema’s artistic director, celebrating works that continue to shape cinematic storytelling across generations.
1. Amores Perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Mexico)
2. Batang West Side by Lav Diaz (Philippines)
3. Patay na si Hesus by Victor Villanueva (Philippines)
4. Possession by Andrzej Żuławski (France, Germany)
5. Perfect Blue by Satoshi Kon (Japan)
6. Jaguar by Lino Brocka (Philippines)
7. Sister Stella L. by Mike de Leon (Philippines)
Before Midnight brings together bold genre cinema, from action-packed dark comedy and supernatural horror to unsettling mysteries and psychological thrillers.
1. Arrested Memory by SABU (Taiwan, Japan)
2. Chronovisor by Kevin Walker and Jack Auen (USA)
3. I Love Paris by Nicky Murphy (France, USA)
4. Moonglow by Isabel Sandoval (Philippines, Japan, Taiwan)
5. The Unknown (L’inconnue) by Arthur Harari (France, Italy)
Dokyu Days presents documentaries that illuminate true stories from around the world. Titles in this section include;
1. Bomba Bernal by Khavn (Philippines)
2. I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies by Mani Haghighi (Iran)
3. To the Moon and Back by Elisa Gómez Alvarez (Switzerland, Philippines, France, Qatar)
4. The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer (La ilusión de un verano sin fin) by Alessandra Sanguinetti (Argentina, USA)
5. Union Town by Barbara Kopple (USA)
The 14th edition of the QCinema International Film Festival runs from November 13 to 22, 2026, with screenings at Gateway Cineplex 18, Robinsons Movieworld Galleria, Ayala Malls Cinemas TriNoma, Fisher Box Office, and SM Cinema – SM City Fairview with tickets priced at ₱200 each.