Philippines’ QCinema Reveals 20 Projects for Second Project Market

The Philippines’ Quezon City Film Commission and QCinema have announced the lineup for the second edition of the QCinema Project Market (QPM).

Twenty projects were selected from 63 submissions across the Philippines and Southeast Asia. The market aims to connect filmmakers with international partners and provide approximately $300,000 in grants and prizes.

Notable projects from last year’s QPM have made significant progress. Rafael Manuel’s “Filipiniana” and Woo Ming Jin’s “Fox King” are in post-production, while Duong Dieu Linh’s “Don’t Cry Butterfly” is set to world premiere at Venice Critics’ Week.

Southeast Asian projects from the 2024 selection include:

“The Beer Girl in Yangon” (Myanmar, Indonesia) – Director: Sein Lyan Tun, Producer: Yulia Evina Bhara. Synopsis: A 17-year-old girl works in a Yangon beer station after her father’s political arrest, navigating love and hallucinations.

“Picturehouse” (Vietnam) – Director: Minh-Nghiem Nguyen-Vo, Producer: Johann Chapelan. Synopsis: In 1960s Vietnam, a family-run movie house becomes a sanctuary for a boy amid war.

“Future Laobans” (Myanmar) – Director: Maung Sun, Producer: Emmanuel Angeles. Synopsis: Three teenagers in a jade mining town embark on a risky smuggling journey to China.

“To Leave, To Stay” (Cambodia) – Director: Danech San, Producer: Daniel Mattes. Synopsis: A girl goes missing after visiting a soldier she met online; her friend begins a search.

“Other People’s Dreams” (Singapore) – Director: Daniel Hui, Producers: Tan Si En, Joel Neo. Synopsis: Two runaways meet in Singapore, surviving by stealing unseen from the public.

“The Passport” (Malaysia) – Director: Ananth Subramaniam, Producer: Choo Mun Bel. Synopsis: A punk rocker confronts cultural expectations in a working-class Indian family.

“I’ll Smile in September” (Singapore, India) – Director: Aakash Chhabra, Producer: Fran Borgia. Synopsis: A brass band player in Old Delhi tries to move on after losing his love and his front teeth.

Filipino projects from the 2024 selection are:

“Anak Alon” (Daughters of the Sea) – Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar, Producer: Rajiv Idnani. Synopsis: Three lives intertwine, including a tour guide who unknowingly meets her father.

“Molder” – Director: Kenneth Dagatan, Producers: Bradley Liew, Junxiang Huang. Synopsis: A Filipino immigrant in Italy faces a nightmare of physical decay after a curse.

“My Neighbor the Gangster” – Director: Mario Cornejo, Producers: Monster Jimenez, Jon Romulo. Synopsis: A young boy’s life changes when a gangster moves next door with his mistress and child.

“Bato Bato Sa Langit Ang Tamaan Magagalit” (“Heaven Help Us”) – Director: Eve Baswel, Producers: John Torres, Jules Katanyag. Synopsis: The lives of construction workers unfold 12 hours before the 1981 Manila Film Center collapse.

“Baradero” (“A Ship of Fools”) – Director: Keith Deligero, Producer: Gale Osorio. Synopsis: Two men are connected by a ship that witnesses historical trauma on the brink of WWII.

“Golden” – Director: JP Habac, Producers: Omar Sortijas, Catsi Catalan. Synopsis: Homeless gay seniors reunite to revive their drag queen performances for fundraising.

“Lihim Na Luha” (“Secret Cries”) – Director: Eileen Cabiling, Producers: Darlene Malimas, Jericho Rosales. Synopsis: A filmmaker uncovers truths behind a controversial 1980s film project.

“Inahing Baka” (“Mother Maybe”) – Director: Sonny Calvento, Producers: Arden Rod Condez, Sheron Dayoc. Synopsis: A son reunites with his mother in Tokyo, discovering her nightly transformation.

“Please Bear With Me” – Director: Gabriela Serrano, Producers: Gale Osorio, Keith Deligero. Synopsis: In a dreamless Philippines, a mother relives her pop star past through paid “dream-time.”

“Angel De Dios” – Director: Joel Ruiz, Producer: Madonna Tarrayo. Synopsis: A bank robber inadvertently ends up with a baby after a heist gone wrong.

“Hum” – Director: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, Producers: Alemberg Ang, Hannah Schierbeek. Synopsis: An earthquake affects two land defenders turned rodeo stars haunted by their past.

“Ewa” (“Eve”) – Director: Keith Sicat, Producer: Sari Dalena. Synopsis: A scientist in an alien world struggles to reconnect with her distant child.

“The Returning” – Director: Atsuko Hirayanagi, Producers: Will Manalang, Eiko Mizuno Gray. Synopsis: A homeless Japanese man in Manila joins an environmental charity that’s actually a cult.

QPM offers various funding opportunities, including the QPM-PH Co-Production Grant awarding PHP2 million ($35,390) each to three Filipino projects. Other prizes include post-production services and equipment rentals from industry partners.

The market, set to take place Nov. 14-16 during the 12th QCinema International Film Festival in the Philippines, will feature one-on-one meetings, project presentations and networking events. Industry accreditation for professionals opens Sept. 11-30, with jury members to be revealed Oct. 9.

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