By Chito Chavez
The Department of Tourism (DOT) cited the Quezon City government for its vision to be the center of “film tourism” in the Philippines through its annual QCinema International Film Festival (QCinema).
(QCinema / MANILA BULLETIN)
Launched by Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte in 2013, QCinema is the city’s official film festival which is funded by the local government.
“Apart from our local tourist destinations, we trust that initiatives such as the QCinema will boost the leisure and entertainment tourism of the country. The QC International Film Festival is the only international film fest in the country and, of course, it is promoting film tourism,” Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.
She stressed that the city is being prepared to be one of the world’s film festival destinations, such as the Cannes Film Festival in France, Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, and Tokyo International Film Festival in Japan.
“To our local and international film tourists, I encourage you to watch all the films in this year’s QCinema and make the discovery of art more fun in the Philippines,” Puyat said.
Meanwhile, Belmonte said QCinema has really become international. “I have noted that some of our jury members and guest Asian directors have come directly from Busan and other international film festivals,” she said.
Several international filmmakers included in this year’s QCinema will arrive in the Philippines for open forums after the screening of their respective films.
They are Yeo Siew Hua of “A Land Imagined” on October 22; Ash Mayfair of “The Third Wife” and Hsin-yao Huang of “The Great Buddha” on October 24; Anucha Boonyawatana of “Malila: The Farewell Flower” and Keisuke Yoshida of “Come on Irene” on October 25; and Klaus Händl of “Tomcat” on October 30.