QCinema Announces Its 2026 QCShorts Grantees

Five projects receive PHP 700,000 production grants, chosen from a record-breaking 395 submissions from Filipino filmmakers worldwide.

Out of the record-breaking 395 submissions, the QCinema International Film Festival has chosen five Filipino filmmakers who will receive the PHP 700,000 QCShorts Production Grant.

Among the selected filmmakers and projects are Carlo Pulido Ocampo’s Agsangit Laeng ti Al-alia, Clister Santos’ Sana’y Nandito Ka, Maki Makilan’s Body Works, Rodiell Veloso’s Run Shirley Run, and Toni Cañete’s Maanaa Kanimo.

“What stands out, even when we were shortlisting, are the increasing number of films from the regions that are deeply rooted in genre,” says Ed  Lejana, Qcinema’s artistic director and the newly appointed executive director of QC Screen Commission. “Many of the titles that stood out use filmmaking, narrative conventions, satire, and even myths as a way to make sense of the violence, extremism, absurdity, and gross injustice happening today.

Jason Tan Liwag, the head of short film programming, shares his own thoughts. “This new batch of shorts all examines widening rifts between the individual and the family, between our bodies and beliefs. Whether it’s about distant wars, fissures within communities, or personal alienation, we are committed to holding space for stories that are deeply political, regional, and quintessentially Filipino.”

Established in 2016, QCinema’s QCshorts Production Grant has awarded a total of 14.85 million to 56 short films, with past recipients winning top awards such as the Gawad Urian and FAMAS Awards, as well as joining major festivals in Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, Clermont-Ferrand, Locarno, Singapore, the UK, Shanghai, Kaohsiung, and New York, among others.

This year’s grantees were chosen by a selection committee comprising Lejano; QCinema film programmer, and Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Division Chief for Film Awards and Events, Kints Kintana; film critic, educator, film programmer, and Critics Lab coordinator, Jason Tan Liwag; film critic, programmer, and QCinema’s head of publications, Philbert Dy; actor and producer, Iana Bernardez; filmmaker, musician, and journalist, Quark Henarez, documentarist and producer, Venice Atienza, and filmmaker and production designer Sam Manacsa.

The five grantees will make their world premieres at QCinema later in November, when the festival will have its 14th edition. Below, learn more about this year’s grantees and their projects.

Carla Pulido Ocampo, Agsangit Laeng ti Al-alia (A Ghost Can Only Howl)

Written by Carla Pulido Ocampo and produced by Lester Valle, Agasangit Laeng ti Al-alia is an Ilocano period drama following a young feminine heerbolario who dons his mother’s clothes in hopes of joining the revolutionary forces, but would have to get past his father’s madness first. Previously, Ocampo and Valle were awarded the QCShorts grant in 2019, which led to the creation of the romantic fantasy drama Tokwifi, which won several awards at QCinema, Cinemalaya, Gawad Urian, and FAMAS.

Maki Makilan, Body Works

Body Works, written and directed by Maki Makilan and produced by Earvic Noay, Patti Lapus, and Dodo Dayao, is a lesbian boudoir drama following the story of a laid-off dishwasher who finds survival in a paid romance, until the relationship begins to demand more than a transaction. Born in Negros Occidental, Makilan’s works have been screened in Cebu, Bangkok, San Diego, and more, exploring themes of displacement, queerness, and domestic migration.

Toni Cañete, Maanaa Kanimo (With You)

A queer coming-of-age drama, Maana Kanimo is set in a tight-knit community disrupted by the disappearance of a Mama Mary statue, following two sisters as they confront questions of identity, faith, and morality. The film is written and directed by Toni Cañete and produced by Tin Velasco and Macah Tadena. Hailing from Cagayan de Oro City, Cañete is a filmmaker who has earned top prizes from the CCP Gawad Alternatibo and the Mindanao Film Festival for her works exploring young women and resistance, and is an alumna of ASEAN-ROK Fly Leaders Incubator FLY2025.

Rodiell Veloso, Run Shirley Run!

Written and directed by Rodiell Veloso and produced by Rajiv Idnani and Tomomi Furuyama, Run Shirley Run! is a dark comedy queer body horror set in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao. The story follows a suicidal manananggal who splits in two, with her top hald wanting to die and her bottom half wanting to live. Inspired by the works of Takashi Miike, Sion Sono, and Julia Ducornau, Veloso is an alumnus of Buan Asian Film School and Full Circle Lab Philippines.

Clister Santos, Sana’y Nandito Ka

An animated slice-of-life drama, Sana’y Nandito Ka follows a young man reuniting with his estranged mother six years later. It is written and directed by Clister Santos and produced by Leon Lopez and Alex Poblete. Santos, who graduated from CIIT College of Arts and Technology, is a multimedia artist and art director. In 2023, his debut film Ili-Ili made its world premiere at the 38th BFI Flare: London LGBTQUIA+ Film festival, and in 2024, earned the top prize for animation at the CCP Gawad Alternatibo.