‘Ella Arcangel’ named opening film for QCinema 2026
The festival runs from November 13 to 22, with tickets priced at ₱200 and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s live-action ‘Look Back’ selected to close the programme.
QCinema International Film Festival will begin its 14th edition with the Filipino animated fantasy-horror feature “Ella Arcangel: Ballad of Tooth and Claw”. Directed by Mervin Malonzo, the film will also compete in the festival’s Asian Next Wave section.
Bianca Umali voices Ella, a 12-year-old mambabarang facing both hostile spirits and violence and abuses of authority in her community during the government’s war on drugs. Adapted from comics by Julius Villanueva, the production received a ₱1.5 million QCinema Project Market Philippines Co-Production Grant in 2023.
Malonzo previously made animated shorts featuring Ella and posted them on YouTube. GMA Pictures executive and co-producer Nessa Valdellon said GMA Public Affairs supported the feature partly because of its political message.
This edition’s theme, “Genre’teurs”, examines where genre filmmaking meets auteur cinema. The closing selection, “Look Back”, is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga. Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita play two young artists whose friendship develops through drawing.
Screenings will take place at Gateway Cineplex 18, Robinsons Movieworld Galleria, Ayala Malls Cinemas TriNoma, Fisher Box Office and SM Cinema – SM City Fairview. The ₱200 ticket price applies to all festival screenings.
