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Mario Bautista, has been with the entertainment industry for more than 4 decades. He writes regular columns for People's Journal and Malaya.

Oct 20, 2017

Eight New Local Films Now Competing In QCinema Filmfest, Showing Until October 28 In Gateway, Trinoma, Up Town Center, Robinsons Galleria & Manila Cinematheque

QCINEMA International Filmfest formally opened at Ayala Malls Vertis North last Thursday and here are the 8 local film entries: “The Write Moment” by Dominic Lim, “Dapol Tan Payawar Na Tayug 1931 (The Ashes and Ghosts of Tayug 1931)” by Christopher Gozum; “Dormitoryo” by Emerson Reyes; “Gugu”by Khavn de la Cruz; “Hubog ng Langit” by Lawrence Fajardo; “Medusae” by Pam Miras; “Neomanila” by Mikhail Red; “The Chanters” by James Robin Mayo”.

Dominic Lim wrote and directed The Write Moment about a heartbroken scriptwriter who fails to get back with an old flame through his “romantic-hugotscript” and finds himself living in the scenes he wrote. He’s forced to follow everything verbatim—or else face being stuck in an endless loop of scenes repeating over and over again.

Christopher Gozum’s Dapol Tan Payawar Na Tayug 1931 (The Ashes and Ghosts of Tayug 1931) retells the story of rebel leader Pedro Calosa and the infamous Tayug Colorum Uprising in Pangasinan from three diverse angles: a silent film dramatizing Calosa's return to his hometown; an aging supremo as he searches for a sacred cave accompanied by historians; and a filmmaker doing interviews about the 1931 uprising to prepare for a film about Calosa.



Dormitoryo, Emerson Reyes’ second film, focuses on the lives of eight individuals who spend the evening tucked away in personal galaxies, talking about collective experiences, and sharing a similar fate.

Khavn de la Cruz works with writers Jerry Gracio and Achinette Villamor to create "Gugu". Set in Balangiga Massacre in 1901, it follows 11-year-old Kulas who flees town with his grandfather and their carabao to escape General Smith’s “Kill and Burn” order. By some twist of fate, Kulas finds a toddler amid a sea of corpses. Together, the two boys struggle to survive the American occupation.

Lawrence Fajardo teams up with writer Lilit Reyes for Hubog ng Langit. An idealistic priest attempts to shape the morals of a town and tries to transform a chaste but warped fanatic carving icons whose sensuality is awakened. Surrounding them are the council members with their respective worldly ways while claiming to serve the parish.

Pam Miras spun a playful narrative in Medusae for her second feature as writer and director. A documentarist’s son goes missing when she films a story on the disappearances of the firstborns in a remote island. Her search reveals the presence of a cult and an abductor who looks like her, whom her son claims to be his real mother.

Mikhail Red’s second film, Neomanila, provides a closer look on the violent war on drugs waged in present day Manila. Toto, a teenage orphan, is recruited by a notorious death squad. Irma, the group’s leader, soon becomes a maternal figure to the young boy. As the two form a familial bond, their loyalties will be put to the test when one of their targets turns out to be a familiar face.

Director James Robin Mayo collaborated with Andrian Legaspi and Ana Puod for his first feature, The Chanters. In a remote tribe, the dying tradition of chanting is kept alive by an old chanter and his son. When the father, one of the last chanters, passed away, the tradition is threatened to be forgotten.

These films will be shown at Gateway Mall, Robinsons Galleria, Trinoma, UP Town Center and Cinematheque Center from October 20 to 28. Tickets are only P150 each.

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