MANILA, Philippines — Late iconic actress Cherie Gil’s last screen performance for the film “Elehiya” is included at this year’s QCinema.
In an interview with the media earlier, director Loy Arcenas said that the film was finished shooting in 2018, and Cherie then was doing fine on the set.
“She’s fine. I love working with Cherie. When she works, she works, and when she lives, she lives life. Ang maganda kasi kay Cherie is that concentrated siya,” Loy said.
Loy said that he learned so much from Cherie and he loves working with the late actress.
“I have to say, I learned so much (from her). I love working with her. You cannot ask for more. One thing with her, she was never primadonna,” he said.
Apart from “Elehiya,” QCinema’s main competition includes Singaporean Oscar entry “Ajoomma” by Shuming He; Japanese Oscar entry “Plan 75” by Chie Hayakawa, which is also a Cannes Golden Special Mention Winner; and another Cannes entry, South Korean film “Return to Seoul” by Davy Chou.
Also in competition are Thai film “Arnold is a Model Student” by Sorayos Prapapan, which had its world premiere at Locarno, and “Autobiography,” by first-time Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak, which won the FIPRESCI Prize in Venice this year.
The last film competing is Filipino movie “12 Weeks” by Anna Isabelle Matutina, the NETPAC Award in the recent Cinemalaya, which stars Max Eigenmann who went home with the Best Actress award.
Bookending the festival is the much-awaited screening of two acclaimed European films with notable performances by Filipino thespians. The Palme d’Or-winning class satire “Triangle of Sadness” by Ruben Östlund, which stars Dolly de Leon, is the festival’s opener. The closing film is Venice Film Festival entry “To The North” by Mihai Mincan, starring Soliman Cruz.
The festival, slated from November 17 to 26, will feature 58 films, including six short film production grantees, with seven sections of full-length films and three shorts programs.
A long and short film competition will also be held and winners will be announced during the festival.
“It has grown bigger and stronger beyond our dreams and much sooner than our expectations. It is like the making of a film, QCinema’s growth has been a collaborative effort. While it started as a brainchild of mine 10 years ago, it took a whole city and the efforts of many sectors to propel it to what it is now, one of the country’s most formidable film festivals” said Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte.
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