15 Films you shouldn’t miss at the 10th QCinema International Film Festival

By Asian Film Festival on November 10, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

These are fifteen films you shouldn’t miss at the QCinema International Film Festival which will take place in cinemas and online from November 17 – 26, 2022 in Quezon City, Philippines.

**12 Weeks** by Anna Isabelle Matutina – Philippines | 2022 – 105 minutes

A single, 40-year-old woman discovers she is pregnant after breaking up with her boyfriend and must decide whether she wants to be a mother or not. (IMDb)

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**Ajoomma** by Shuming He – Singapore | 2022 – 90 minutes

Inspired by the director’s mother, Ajoomma is the story of a middle-aged, Korean-drama obsessed widow from Singapore, who travels out of the country for the first time to Seoul in South Korea and ends up getting lost. Her journey becomes an unexpected road of self-discovery, as she comes to terms with the life that she truly wants to have for herself. (TGHFF 2022)

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**Argentina, 1985** by Santiago Mitre – Argentina, UK, USA | 2022 – 140 minutes

A team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship during the 1980s in a battle against odds and a race against time. (IMDb)

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**Arnold is a Model Student** by Sorayos Prapapan – Thailand, Singapore | 2022 – 83 minutes

A new semester begins at Sawasdee High School. Arnold wins a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad and becomes the school’s model student, favored by the school principal. Arnold has as his primary goal the desire to enter a reputable university (a goal shared by the school), but he begins to struggle when a dark temptation emerges. Meanwhile, an incident of violent punishment at the school is shared on social media causing outrage among students. Sorayos Prapapan, an alumni of BIFF Asian Film Academy, has been internationally promoted through his short films satirizing Thai society. His debut feature elegantly reveals his typical sarcastic yet humorous style. The actual ‘bad student’ movement against the Thai authoritative school system was taking place during the production of this feature, and enriched the texture of the film even more. The film depicts a story specific to Thailand today, but the look and feel of the film are universal. (BOO Kyunghwan)

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**Autobiography** by Makbul Mubarak
Indonesia, Poland, Germany, Singapore, France, Philippines | 2022 – 116 minutes

A charismatic retired military general returns to his hometown to run for an election. Rikib, a young man, succeeds in his father’s career assisting the retired general. The veteran treats Rikab as if he were his own son, giving life lessons earned by experiences. That is all about the cold and cruel reality of the world by the law of the jungle and the fear of power. One day, he finds an election poster with his face damaged, and gets furious. Rikib tries to find the offender, but this leads to an irreversible catastrophe. Director Makbul Mubarak was born in Indonesia and graduated from Korea National University of Arts. An alumnus of BIFF Asian Film Academy and Torino Film Lab, Mubarak has made a stunning debut feature. Autobiography is skillfully directed by the young director, and the two main actors give flawless performances. Although it is the Post-Suharto era in Indonesia today, the hanging echoes of violence in the absurd society and the chains of personal ironies are still entangled giving a long lingering impression and thoughts. (BOO Kyunghwan)

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**Elehiya** by Loy Arcenas – Philippines | 2022 – 109 minutes

Celine, a grieving widow returns to her estranged husband’s family’s island estate to scatter his ashes and claim her inheritance. Paeng and Celine de Miranda, both doctors, seemed to be the perfect couple, beloved by the islanders who were beneficiaries of their many medical missions. But the marriage fell apart, marked by her being unable to bear children and rumors of his infidelities. The once idyllic island is now mired in poverty, squalor, and decadence. It is now up for sale to Korean investors. (Letterboxd)

**Joyland** by Saim Sadiq – Pakistan | 2022 – 126 minutes

In his ravishing feature debut, Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq astutely observes a patriarchal, lower-middle-class family’s hesitant explorations of desire and intimacy. When Haider (Ali Junejo), the affable but directionless second son, lands a gig as a background dancer in a contemporary courtesan act led by a transgender dancer, Biba (Alina Khan), little does he anticipate the sexual rebellion he will ignite at home, particularly affecting his maverick makeup artist wife, Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq). By turns ebullient, piercing and melancholic, JOYLAND shifts between the modalities of a “respectable” Muslim family’s living room and a rambunctious, erotic center stage. With production design of piquant greens and dance numbers of defiance, Sadiq’s drama interrogates gender and sexuality via a unique ensemble structure and is a highlight among recent queer cinema. –Ritesh Mehta

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**Next Sohee** by July Jung – South Korea | 2022 – 134 minutes

Sohee (Kim Si-eun) gets a job as a field trainee at the customer service center of an Internet company just before her high school graduation. She is excited about getting a job at a large company, but the reality is different from what she expects. The customer service center is simply a hell of labor exploitation. The cruel reality there leads to a grim accident, and detective Yujin (Bae Doona) desperately pursues the truth. However, in the face of an absurd social system, she feels powerless. Director July Jung′s Next Sohee is a detailed investigation report that reflects the ecology of our society and an excellent portrait showing the longsuffering characters in detail. As the dense narrative slowly unfolds through the bodies of Sohee and Yujin, the gruesome feelings the title suggests are pushing in aggressively. (HONG Eunmi)

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**Nocebo** by Lorcan Finnegan – Ireland UK, Philippines, USA | 2022 – 96 minutes

A fashion designer is suffering from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband, until help arrives in the form of a Filipino career, who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth. (IMDb)

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**Plan 75** by Chie Hayakawa – Japan, France, Philippines | 2022 – 112 minutes

When Japan’s population of citizens over seventy-five grows to unprecedented numbers, the government implements “Plan 75,” which encourages people over age 75 to seek euthanasia. This policy is based on the perception that the elderly’s contribution to the economy is insufficient to cover the rising healthcare and social welfare expenditures for the elderly. On television people testify that they are happy to be able to choose euthanasia. The government announces that it will fund final trips and funerals for those who opt for euthanasia. While The Ballad of Narayama (1983) tells a story set in the past about an old woman who chooses death to ensure the community’s sustenance, Plan 75 is set in the near future when the government urges the elderly to die. The film became a social issue upon its release in Japan, and it also sends a heavy message to Korean society. (NAM Dong-chul)

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**Return to Seoul** by Davy Chou
France, Germany, Belgium, Korea, Romania, Cambodia, Qatar | 2022 – 115 minutes

On an impulse to reconnect with her origins, 25-year-old Freddie returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. The headstrong young woman starts looking for her biological parents in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions. (TGHFF 2022)

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**The Sales Girl** by Janchivdorj Sengedorj – Mongolia | 2021 – 123 minutes

Reticent Saruul loves to draw, but at the wishes of her parents, she is studying nuclear engineering instead. One day, a friend slips on a banana peel and breaks her leg. She asks Saruul to fill in for her at her part-time job at a sex shop. Although it seems like the least likely job for Saruul, her friend, hoping that Saruul would be the most discreet about her secret job, convinces her. The work involves selling all kinds of oddly-shaped pleasure enhancers, making occasional deliveries, and delivering the day’s earnings and cat food to the shop owner Katya at the end of the day. Saruul starts working at the shop, and over time she grows fascinated by Katya, who seems to know all about things that she doesn’t know or hasn’t experienced. The two women’s special friendship changes each other’s lives. Charming direction and music in unexpected places stand out in particular. (PARK Sungho)

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**Utama** by Alejandro Loayza Grisi – Bolivia, Uruguay, France | 2022 – 87 minutes

In the Bolivian highlands, an elderly Quechua couple has been living the same daily life for years. During an uncommonly long drought, Virginio and his wife (Sisa) face a dilemma: resist or be defeated by the environment and time itself. (IMDb)

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**Walk Up** by Hong Sang-soo – South Korea | 2022 – 97 minutes

Successful middle-aged filmmaker Byungsoo (Kwon Haehyo) drops by to visit an old friend, Mrs. Kim (Lee Hyeyoung), the owner of a charming apartment building, only to find his life taking a series of unexpected turns. Hong Sangsoo uses a delicately radical structure in his latest exploration of the complexities of relationships, growing older, and artistic pursuit. (NYFF2022)

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**When The Waves Are Gone** by Lav Diaz – Philippines, Denmark, Portugal, France | 2022 – 187 minutes

Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, one of the best investigators of the Philippines, is in a deep moral crossroad. He is a first-hand witness of the murderous anti-drug campaign that his institution is implementing with dedication. The atrocities are corroding Hermes physically and spiritually, causing him a severe skin disease. As he tries to heal, a dark past haunts him and has eventually come back for a reckoning. (TGHFF 2022)

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