QCinema International Film Festival returns for its 14th edition from November 13 to 22, 2026, bringing together an expansive selection of films from the Philippines and around the world. This year’s updated lineup features an exciting mix of international cinema under the banner of Genre’teurs, a curatorial concept exploring 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.
Opening the festival is the world premiere of Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw (Ella Arcangel: Awit ng Pangil at Kuko), an animated feature directed by Mervin Malonzo. Adapted from Julius Villanueva’s comics, the film was awarded the ₱1.5-million QCinema Project Market (QPM) Philippines Co-Production Grant in 2023.
Closing the festival is Look Back, the live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed manga, directed by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda.
COMPETITION SECTIONS
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.
ASIAN NEXT WAVE
The festival’s main competition, Asian Next Wave, showcases some of the most exciting new voices in Asian cinema. The lineup includes:
- 9 Temples to Heaven – Sompot Chidgasornpongse (Thailand, Norway, France, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar)
- A Girl Unknown – Zou Jing (China, France)
- Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw – Mervin Malonzo (Philippines)
- Fujiko – Taichi Kimura (Japan)
- Fruit Gathering – Aung Phyoe (Myanmar, Czechia, France)
- Hearing – Lê Bảo (Vietnam, Singapore, Norway, France, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan)
- The Burning Giants – Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (Thailand, France, Singapore, Netherlands)
- The World Before – Yoon Da-bi (South Korea)
NEW HORIZONS
Showcasing fresh perspectives and distinctive storytelling, New Horizons spotlights feature directorial debuts and second films by filmmakers pushing the boundaries of cinema.
- Angh – Theja Rio (India)
- Baby Jackfruit, Baby Guava – Nông Nhật Quang (Vietnam, South Korea)
- Furies – Rami Kodeih (Lebanon, Brazil)
- La Gradiva – Marine Atlan (France, Italy)
- House of the Wind – Auguste Kouemo Yanghu (Cameroon, France, Belgium, Benin, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
- Sad Girlz – Fernanda Tovar (Mexico, Spain, France)
- The Color of the Sun – Xavier Tera (Canada, Italy, Japan)
- We Are Aliens – Kohei Kadowaki (Japan, France)
RAINBOWQC
QCinema’s LGBTQIA+ section, RainbowQC, presents stories exploring queer identities, relationships, desire, and belonging across different cultures and experiences.
- Big Little Things – Michelle Zhou (Hong Kong, USA)
- Flesh and Fuel – Pierre le Gall (France, Poland)
- Gugu’s World – Allan Deberton (Brazil)
- I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming – Isabelle Stever (Germany, Ukraine)
- Jim Queen – Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané (France, Belgium)
- Little Trouble Girls – Urška Djukić (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Italy)
- Lovers in the Blue Night – Anuparna Roy (India)
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – Jane Schoenbrun (Canada, USA, UK)
QCSHORTS INTERNATIONAL
QCinema’s expanded short film competition program pairs the festival’s five QCinema grantees with some of Southeast Asia’s most exciting voices and storytellers working in the short film format. The selection is presented across four programs exploring diverse themes, perspectives, and cinematic styles.
Program 1: At Night We Lead Different Lives
- And If Thuy Didn’t Exist (Et si Thuy n’existait pas) – Carlo Francisco Manatad (Philippines, France, Indonesia)
- Body Works – Maki Makilan (Philippines)
- Is This Desire? – Apa Agbayani (Philippines, USA)
- She Said – Ivan Tan (Singapore)
- Through the Cracks – Le Hoang (Vietnam)
Program 2: A Little Blasphemy Never Hurt Anyone
- Bleat! – Ananth Subramaniam (Malaysia, Philippines, France)
- Fruit (Buah) – Jen Nee Lim (Singapore)
- Run Shirley Run! – Rodiell Veloso (Philippines, Japan, Thailand)
- The Bovine Comedy – Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (France)
- The Dream Is a Snail (Giấc mơ là ốc sên) – Thiên Ân Nguyễn (Vietnam, South Korea)
Program 3: All Our Mothers Were Once Girls
- Gandang Lola (Grandmothering) – Kylechandler Bigay (Philippines)
- Maanaa Kanimo – Toni Cañete (Philippines)
- Sana’y Nandito Ka – Clister Santos (Philippines)
- The 4PLY Clandestine System – Natalie Sin (Singapore)
Program 4: The Mountains Always Ask for More
- Agsangit Laeng ti Al-alia (A Ghost Can Only Howl) – Carla Pulido Ocampo (Philippines)
- Golden Island (Kota Emas) – Arief Budiman (Indonesia, Singapore)
- Incident on the Mountain (Oupatevak Het Tam Phnom) – Savunthara Seng (Cambodia)
- Obscura – Timoteus Anggawan Kusno (Indonesia, Netherlands)
- They Made Monsters – Jaime Morados (Philippines)
EXHIBITION SECTIONS
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
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.
- A Long Winter – Andrew Haigh (UK, Canada)
- Everytime – Sandra Wollner (Austria, Germany)
- Fatherland – Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland, Germany, France, Italy)
- Fjord – Cristian Mungiu (Romania, Norway, France, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, USA)
- Makikiraan Po (Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors) – Lav Diaz (Philippines)
- Nowhere to Lay My Eyes – Hong Sang-soo (South Korea)
- The Beloved – Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain, France)
- The Diary of a Chambermaid – Radu Jude (France, Romania)
- Vintage Violence – Eugene Kotlyarenko (USA, Japan)
QC SELECTS
QC Selects is a curated lineup of films selected by QCinema, highlighting powerful stories, distinctive perspectives, and exciting cinematic visions.
- 11 – Bebe Go (Philippines) and You Are the Film – Makoto Ueda (Japan), presented as a double bill.
- A Is for Agustin – Grace Pimentel Simbulan (Philippines) and Agos, Ang Batang Isla – Ced Hordeno (Philippines), presented as a double bill.
- Club Kid – Jordan Firstman (USA)
- Fucktoys – Annapurna Sriram (USA)
- I Grew an Inch When My Father Died – P.R. Monencillo Patindol (Philippines)
- IBUKU – Eddie Cahyono (Indonesia)
- Look Back – Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan)
- The Remotes – John Torres (Philippines, USA)
- The Tigers (Los Tigres) – Alberto Rodríguez (Spain, France)
REDISCOVERY
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.
- Amores Perros – Alejandro González Iñárritu (Mexico)
- Batang West Side – Lav Diaz (Philippines)
- Patay na si Hesus – Victor Villanueva (Philippines)
- Possession – Andrzej Żuławski (France, Germany)
- Perfect Blue – Satoshi Kon (Japan)
FOCUS ON: PETE LACABA
As part of the Rediscovery section, Focus On: Pete Lacaba pays tribute to the celebrated Filipino writer and screenwriter through two landmark films:
- Jaguar – Lino Brocka (Philippines)
- Sister Stella L. – Mike de Leon (Philippines)
BEFORE MIDNIGHT
Before Midnight brings together bold genre cinema, from action-packed dark comedy and supernatural horror to unsettling mysteries and psychological thrillers.
- Arrested Memory – SABU (Taiwan, Japan)
- Chronovisor – Kevin Walker and Jack Auen (USA)
- I Love Paris – Nicky Murphy (France, USA)
- Moonglow – Isabel Sandoval (Philippines, Japan, Taiwan)
- The Unknown (L’inconnue) – Arthur Harari (France, Italy)
DOKYU DAYS
Dokyu Days presents documentaries that illuminate true stories from around the world.
- Bomba Bernal – Khavn (Philippines)
- I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies – Mani Haghighi (Iran)
- To the Moon and Back – Elisa Gómez Alvarez (Switzerland, Philippines, France, Qatar)
- The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer (La ilusión de un verano sin fin) – Alessandra Sanguinetti (Argentina, USA)
- Union Town – Barbara Kopple (USA)
- You Can See Everything – Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim (USA)
QCINEMA AT THE PARK
Aside from its regular film screenings, QCinema also brings back QCinema at the Park, featuring a free outdoor screening of Magic Kingdom: The Legend of Damortis, directed by Lore Reyes and Peque Gallaga, at the Quezon Memorial Circle.
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.
All festival screenings are priced at a discounted ticket rate of ₱200 each. Individual tickets will be sold through QCinema’s cinema partners.
For more information, visit qcinema.ph or follow @qcinemaph on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
