Six films supported by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) have been selected to the 77th Cannes Film Festival slated for May 14-25.
DFI continues to uphold its proud legacy of supporting compelling films from across the globe this year too, with its latest co-financed project 'Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot' (Meeting with Pol Pot) by renowned Cambodian director and screenwriter Rithy Panh, selected to the Cannes Premiere section in the Official Selection.
Diverse projects supported by the DFI Grants programme will screen for global audiences, including three projects in the parallel section of Critics' Week and two in Director's Fortnight.
Chief Executive Officer of DFI Fatma Hassan Al Rumaihi, said: "Once again, the eclectic selection of DFI backed projects selected at Cannes this year demonstrates the Institute's commitment to support compelling voices and powerful stories that have the potential to shape world cinema. We are honoured to partner with internationally renowned creative visionaries and emerging talent from the Arab world and beyond to offer a captivating window into different cultures and perspectives to foster a sense of global unity."
"I am especially proud that celebrated auteur and DFI's long-term mentor and collaborator Rithy Panh's new film will premiere at the prestigious festival. Rithy's films offer creative cinematic representations of significant social and historical events that forever changed our world, and his unbounded passion for storytelling with a rare and striking authority, portrayed in Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot, an important and timely film will resonate with all."
Critics' Week will feature 'The Brink of Dreams', by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir, tells the story of a group of Coptic girls who refuse the roles forced upon them by forming an all-female street theatre troupe. It will also feature 'Locust' by KEFF is set in Taiwan, where a mute twenty-nothing struggles to find meaning in the injustice of everyday life. Across The Sea, by Saïd Hamich Benlarbi, will also be screened to tell about 'Nour' who immigrated illegally to Marseille in 1990. With his friends, he lives a marginal and festive life.
During the Director's Fortnight will feature 'East of Noon' by Hala El Koussy and 'To a Land Unknown' by Mahdi Fleifel which tells about two Palestinian cousins who are forced to take extreme measures to escape a hopeless environment before it is too late.
Three other DFI supported projects will participate in industry platforms during the Festival including 'The Myth of Mahmoud' by Mayar Hamdan and Shaima Al Tamimi; 'My Father's House' by Mahdi Fleifel in the Cannes Docs programme; and 'L'Mina' by Randa Maroufi in the Focus Work in Progress section organised by the Short Film Corner.
