The next Doha Film Festival has unveiled its program, characterized by a strong regional component and a focus on the plight of the Palestinians.
As previously announced, the Middle East premiere of Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s politically charged drama, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” serves as the out-of-competition opener for the inaugural edition of the event, which runs from November 20-28 in the Qatari capital.
“The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which tells the true story of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl stranded in a car attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza and later found dead, recently won the Silver Lion Grand Prize of the Venice Film Festival Jury. The film is supported by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), as are most of the titles in the Doha Film Festival’s 13-title competition.
Palestine will also present the Doha Festival competition films “Once Upon a Time in Gaza”, directed by Palestinian director duo Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which had its world premiere at Un Certain Regard in Cannes and won the Best Director award; and Kamal Aljafari’s documentary “With Hasan in Gaza”, premiered in competition at Locarno.
Other standout titles in the competition include Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi’s “The President’s Cake,” about a young schoolgirl chosen to prepare a celebratory dessert for Saddam Hussein’s birthday, which won this year’s Cannes Caméra d’Or; “Khartotum”, the powerful document about five residents forced to flee the conflict in the Sudanese capital started since Sundance; and Iranian director Ali Asgari’s dark comedy about Iranian film censorship, “Divine Comedy.”
“These powerful artistic expressions represent the creativity and resilience of humanity and demonstrate the ability of cinema to shape the future of our societies,” said Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute, in a statement. “Through these stories that engage empathy, reflection and connection, we create safe spaces for meaningful dialogue to counter dominant narratives. »
Just as the small, oil and gas-rich Arab state is diversifying from the energy sector into culture, media and entertainment – as evidenced by the Al Jazeera TV channel and the 2022 FIFA World Cup – the DFI has gradually become a crucial cornerstone of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s film industry.
The upcoming Doha Film Festival transforms DFI’s existing Ajyal Film Festival, dedicated to youth and family-oriented cinema, into a more ambitious international event aimed at a wider audience. It will have four competition sections: the international feature film competition, the short film competition, the Ajyal film competition (judged by the festival’s unique youth jury) and the Made in Qatar competition, dedicated to projects made in Qatar regardless of the director’s origin.
The first prizes distributed will be the best story, worth $75,000; documentary, worth $50,000; artistic achievement, worth $45,000; and the non-sexist interpretation prize, worth $15,000.
The new festival will take place in various locations across Doha, including Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb City Center and the Museum of Islamic Art.
Discover the full competition schedule for the Doha Film Festival below.
“Khartoum”, Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed and Philip Cox
“Queen of cotton”, Suzannah Mirghani
“Once upon a time in Gaza”, Tarzan and Arab Nasser
“With Hassan in Gaza”, Kamal Aljafari
“The President’s Cake”, Hasan Hadi
“My father and Gaddafi”, Jihan K
“Renoir”, Chie Hayakawa
“Sleepless City”, Guillermo García López
“The Last Shore”, Jean-François Ravagnan
“The Reserve”, Pablo Pérez Lombardini
“Divine Comedy”, Ali Asgari
“Hair, paper, water”, Truong Minh Quy and Nicolas Graux
“The Blue Heron”, Sophy Romvari
