Oct 27, 2023

QCinema announces participants selected for the 2023 QCinema Critics Lab The QCinema International Film Festival announces the eight participants of the inaugural edition of the QCinema Critics Lab. The QCinema Critics Critics Lab will be a space to expand and deepen the current practice of film criticism in the country towards alternative forms of film criticism in the hopes of developing the great Filipino audience. The QCinema Critics Lab is led by FIPRESCI member and two-time Golden Globe voter Jason Tan Liwag and offers insights into the craft of film criticism and audience development. Liwag is working alongside film critic, curator, and former FAMAS jury member Emil Hofileña, who will serve as co-editor of the works produced at the Lab. Participants will experience a two-day online program followed by a four-day intensive where they will watch and review films, interview filmmakers, and discuss with industry professionals — including but not limited to established critics, researchers, media professionals, and more — who will enlighten them about the landscape of filmmaking, film criticism, and film culture in and out of the country. Several of the expert sessions will be exclusive to the participants of the QCinema Critics Lab, while a select few will be open to the public soon. The 2023 QCinema Critics Lab participants are Alyssandra Maxine, Bane Vicente, Justine Danielle Reyes, Kaj Palanca, Lé Baltar, Novy Mae Recate, Red Sales, and Roselle Marie Abanilla. More information about each of them can be found below: Alyssandra Maxine (she/her) is a freelance writer and editor based in Metro Manila. Her childhood affinity towards storytelling within poetry and bildungsroman weaved into a passion for film viewing and criticism. Currently she co-edits MARG1N Magazine — an upcoming independent Southeast Asian film publication supported by Cambodia’s Anti-Archive. With a keen interest in improvisation and interiority, Alyssandra continues to refine narratives of her own and others that celebrate authenticity and collaborative worldmaking. Bane Vicente (they/them) is a Pasig-based filmmaker and writer who, regardless of how much they admire Brocka, still answers “Bernal” when asked about their favorite local filmmaker. Most of their works are short films that explore love, pain, memory, and everything in between. Some of their musings on cinema can be found on their school-requirement-turned-personal blog, para pelikula, where they try to navigate the many intersections of film, film work, and the society they live and exist in. At present, they work with Mayday Multimedia — an independent media outfit that focuses on labor rights. Justine Danielle Reyes (she/they) is a licensed psychometrician, academic, and content creator. Dani has over five years of experience as a resource speaker for mental health and psychology. She spent her first three years teaching junior high school and a year running a movie club for her students, where she was able to share her love for film with them. She also makes educational videos for psychology students on TikTok, occasionally sharing film resources that can help them understand mental health better. In her free time, she likes to hit the gym, watch movies, and write for her blog, Therapy for Takeout. Kaj Palanca (he/him) is a writer, researcher, and filmmaker from Manila. At QCinema International Film Festival, he premiered his two short films Contestant #4 (2016) and Henry (2021). Contestant #4, co-written and directed with Celeste Lapida, won Best Film at the Shanghai Queer Film Festival in 2017. A graduate student of sociology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, he is currently developing his master’s thesis on collective action in film work. He has been writing about films longer than he’s been making them. Lé Baltar (she/they) is a Manila-based freelance journalist, poet, and film critic. Currently serving as secretary of the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers (SFFR), Lé is also a member of Film Police Reviews, Sine Pop Private Film Club, and Tambisan sa Sining. She has written for Rappler, CNN Philippines Life, PhilSTAR Life, VICE Asia, Young STAR Philippines, among other publications. Lé’s work gravitates towards the intersections of the queer and trans struggle, material conditions that shape art and artmaking in the Philippines, and cultural emancipation by centering stories and voices that have long been relegated to marginal spaces. Novy Mae Recate (she/her) is an Ilongga content creator for movies and popular culture. Through her short-form discussions of films and television on TikTok and Instagram, she aims to help Filipino storytellers bring their pieces to the masses and empower audiences to create and seek out spaces for the stories they want to tell. Studying politics at University of the Philippines Diliman made her realize that the Philippines is more harrowing and hopeful than in the movies. Novy spends most of her time either studying law at San Beda University or watching movies. More often than not, she does both while eating baked talaba. Red Sales (he/him) is a writer, producer, and editor based in Las Piñas. He creates video essays under the name “reisalte” on YouTube on TikTok. His work focuses on the appreciation and analysis of Filipino and alternative cinema, with further interest work that experiment with form. Red graduated with a degree in Architecture after submitting a thesis based on the cinema of Lav Diaz and has worked as an architectural designer since 2021. Currently, he freelances as a writer and editor while volunteering for Mayday Multimedia. He is a filmmaker who has participated in filmmaking workshops and international film festivals. Red served as a panelist for the 2023 Gawad Alternatibo Congress for film criticism. Roselle Marie Abanilla (she/her) is a BS Biology graduate from Laguna and is currently a healthcare associate in Pasig City. Having grown up with Wansapanataym and Harry Potter to Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo and Apocalypse Child, Selle’s passion for film began when she became a part of the school publication as a writer in college. Her current interests in arthouse cinema blossomed when she attended a talk by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, later becoming obsessed with the likes of Hirokazu Koreeda, Naoko Ogigami, Hong Sang-soo, Edward Yang, Tsai Ming-Liang, and Aki Kaurismäki. She explores the bliss of mundanity and the ways one overcomes urban exhaustion through handwritten diaries and online writeups available on her personal site — Selyado. The QCinema Critics Lab is a program of the 11th QCinema International Film Festival, taking place November 17 to 26, 2023.