3 PH films win in QCinema fest

Whammy Alcazaren’s “BOLD Eagle,” an introspective dive into the life of a middle-aged sex worker as he ponders his place in the world, bagged the best film trophy under the #QCShorts category of the 2022 QCinema International Film Festival awards show on Wednesday night.

The film was cited “for stitching a visual vernacular of today’s technological tools, articulating a timely and queer political critique that captures anger, loneliness, frustration, boredom and alienation amidst the pandemic,” according to a statement sent by organizers of the annual festival, which ran from Nov. 17 to Nov. 26.

Meanwhile, Glenn Barit’s “Luzonensis Osteoporosis” took home the Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Jury Award for its “absurdist depiction of an internal dilemma and irony that the first discovered Filipino must also become a regular overseas contract worker.”

The film also brought home the Audience Choice award.

In 2019, Barit’s feature film debut, “Cleaners,” won best picture, best screenplay and Audience Choice awards.

‘Heartbreaking portrayal’

JT Trinidad’s “The River that Never Ends” brought home the award for Gender Sensitivity for its “measured vivid and heartbreaking portrayal of a transwoman and a city in their meandering routines of neglect, survival and melancholia.”

Meanwhile, “for a remarkable feature debut commandeered by two riveting lead performances, offering a very intense, haunting cinematic experience,” Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” was awarded best picture under the Asian Next Wave category.

Mubarak also bagged the best director trophy.

The category is for emerging filmmakers from Southeast Asia and East Asia with less than three features.

“Autobiography” was cited for its “deliberately paced, slow-burn drama with serious sociopolitical implications that shows a director who’s hitting the ground running with a film that unanimously impressed the jury.”

Winning the Netpac Jury Award this year—also under Asian New Wave category—is Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul,” which was recognized for its “sensitive portrayal of a woman in search not just of her identity, but also her place in the world constantly in flux. It is built upon formal elegance and emotional maturity, taking us to unexpected places as we follow the protagonist on a journey across cities, cultures, latitudes, but most importantly a journey within her own self.”

Chie Hayakawa’s “Plan 75” won for 80-year-old Chieko Baisho the best lead performance trophy, while Setsuko Shiokawa, the best production design honor.

Baisho’s award, the sole acting honor regardless of gender, is a first for QCinema this year.

‘Intelligent recreation’

Shiokawa also received the Artistic Contribution award for the film’s “controlled yet engaging design of an imagined near future where life or death becomes a choice and existence is diminished to muted tones of sadness and resignation. It is also cited for its intelligent re-creation of dystopia that is pegged on reality and never bordering the fantastic.”

Also winners under the Asian Next Wave category are Shuming He and Cris Ong for writing the screenplay of “Ajoomma.”

The members of the Jury in the Asian Next Wave competition are director-author Kong Rithdee; professor-author Rolando Tolentino; New York Asian Film Festival director Samuel Jamier; TV and film producer-director Jose Javier Reyes; and Festival codirector and film programmer Meninaputri Wismurti.

Director-producer Keith Sicat, director-editor Anna Isabelle Matutina and Tolentino are the #QCShorts jury members.

The following cash prizes were also given to the winners: $5,000 for Asian Next Wave best film, $3,000 for the Netpac Jury Prize, P150,000 for #QCShorts best film, P100,000 for the Netpac Jury Prize (#QCShorts), P150,000 for the Gender Sensitivity Award and P150,000 for the Audience Choice award.