THE Quezon City Government’s QCinema International Film Festival is marking National Women’s Month with a special screening series at Gateway Cineplex 18, featuring stories shaped by women’s experiences of history, resistance, memory and identity.
The program opened on March 4 with a by-invitation screening of “Sisa,” a 2025 Philippine historical thriller drama written, co-produced and directed by Jun Robles Lana.
Set during the final years of the Philippine-American War, the film follows a woman driven to madness after witnessing a brutal massacre.
The special series of film screenings at Gateway Cineplex 18 highlights stories shaped by women’s experiences of history, resistance and identity. PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK/QCINEMAPH
“Sisa” stars Hilda Koronel in her comeback film after a 13-year hiatus, with a supporting cast that includes Eugene Domingo, Jennica Garcia, Tanya Gomez, Barbara Miguel and Romnick Sarmenta. The film had its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, where it competed in the Official Selection section. Its Philippine theatrical release was also scheduled on the same date.
Two more films will be screened today as part of the Women’s Month lineup.
At 4 p.m., QCinema will present a free screening of “The First Women,” a documentary directed by Adriana Yañez and sponsored by the Embassy of Brazil in Manila in partnership with Instituto Guimarães Rosa. The film centers on a group of women now in their 60s who once formed the foundation of Brazil’s first women’s soccer team.
The series concludes at 7 p.m. with “The Little Sister,” or “La Petite Dernière,” written and directed by Hafsia Herzi and presented with the support of the Embassy of France in Manila. Adapted from Fatima Daas’s novel “The Last One,” the coming-of-age drama follows Fatima, a young lesbian woman of Algerian descent in Paris as she navigates faith, family expectations and her emerging sense of self.
The film premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Queer Palm and the Best Actress prize. Tickets for the screening are priced at P200.
The screenings form part of QCinema’s initiatives as Quezon City continues its participation in the Unesco Creative Cities Network as a designated Creative City of Film.
