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My QCinema 2026 watchlist

Stephanie Mayo · Oct 25, 2026, 1:38 AM

Batang West Side — IMDb

With Cannes award winners, international festival discoveries, a horror film starring Gillian Anderson, and a digitally restored Filipino classic, QCinema 2026 offers a rich lineup for cinephiles.

Now on its 14th edition, the festival runs from 13 to 22 November under the theme “Genre’teurs,” exploring how directors reshape familiar genres through distinct personal visions.

Here are the nine films on my personal watchlist.

CRISTIAN Mungiu’s ‘Fjord’ explores family conflict, cultural differences and questions of parental responsibility in a legal thriller set in Norway. — PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF neon

1. ‘Fjord’

A Palme d’Or winner is an obvious starting point. Part of the Screen International lineup, Cristian Mungiu’s legal thriller follows a Romanian family in Norway whose new life unravels when their daughter shows signs of physical abuse. Questions of cultural friction, parenting, and state intervention follow. I’m keen to see how Mungiu handles these difficult moral questions through his trademark observational rigor.

2. ‘Fatherland’

Paweł Pawlikowski’s historical drama enters the Screen International section backed by a shared Best Director prize at Cannes and Poland’s official Oscar submission. Following writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika on a road trip through postwar Germany, the narrative places national fractures against intimate family conflict. Pawlikowski’s exploration of postwar wounds through a strained father-daughter dynamic promises exceptional drama.

JANE Schoenbrun’s ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ follows a filmmaker whose search for a reclusive actor at an abandoned summer camp takes a sinister turn. — PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF mubi

3. ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’

Jane Schoenbrun’s horror entry joins RainbowQC following its debut in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section and a Queer Palm win. The story follows an independent filmmaker who ventures into an abandoned summer camp in search of a reclusive actor, only to uncover something sinister. The premise alone is compelling, and with Gillian Anderson in the cast, it’s a non-negotiable watch.

4. ‘Batang West Side’

Lav Diaz’s landmark crime drama returns to the big screen in a digitally restored version for its 25th anniversary in the Rediscovery section. Centered on an investigation into the fatal shooting of a Filipino teenager in Jersey City, the film unearths the deep-seated anxieties of the diaspora. Seeing this 10-time Gawad Urian winner properly restored in a theater is reason enough to clear one’s schedule.

5. ‘The Remotes’

What if a mobile app could take control of a human body? That unsettling hook drives The Remotes, John Torres’ sci-fi mystery thriller in QC Selects. The Filipino-American production follows a grieving detective investigating fatal crashes linked to malicious software. Backed by a QCinema Project Market grant prior to its Toronto premiere, its mix of grief, mystery, and technological dread makes it a standout track.

ISABEL Sandoval’s ‘Moonglow’ is a noir crime drama set in 1970s Manila, following a detective caught in a web of corruption and divided loyalties. — PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF daluyong studios

6. ‘Moonglow’

Set in 1970s Manila, Isabel Sandoval’s noir crime drama brings a stylish investigation of corruption to the Before Midnight section. Fresh off its Rotterdam debut, the story follows a detective who steals money from her superior, only to be assigned to investigate her own crime. Sandoval’s play on divided loyalties and moral compromise promises a sleek, atmospheric highlight.

7. ‘Look Back’

Closing the festival is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga. Centered on two young artists, played by Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita, whose shared passion for drawing shapes their lives, the film arrives fresh from its Venice competition run. A narrative rooted in artistic ambition and creative connection feels like an ideal note on which to conclude the 10-day run.

8. ‘The Burning Giants’

Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s science-fiction drama arrives in Asian Next Wave with an intriguing festival history: it was selected for the QCinema Project Market in 2023 before making its world premiere in Venice’s Orizzonti section. Blending fantasy with contemporary realities, this Thai production offers a look at how a project nurtured by QCinema’s development platform has reached international audiences.

MERVIN Malonzo’s animated feature ‘Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw’ follows a young mambabarang confronting malevolent spirits and systemic violence amid the government’s drug war. — Photograph Courtesy of IMDb

9. ‘Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw’

Mervin Malonzo’s animated feature pulls double duty: opening QCinema 2026 and competing in Asian Next Wave. Adapted from Julius Villanueva’s comics, it follows 12-year-old Ella, voiced by Bianca Umali, a young mambabarang (a sorcerer who practices harmful magic) confronting malevolent spirits and systemic violence amid the government’s drug war. Using animated horror to confront harsh social realities makes this a bold choice for the festival’s opening night.

QCinema 2026 runs from 13 to 22 November across Gateway Cineplex 18, Robinsons Movieworld Galleria, Ayala Malls Cinemas TriNoma, Fisher Box Office, and SM Cinema Fairview, with regular tickets priced at P200.