The ninth edition of Ajyal Film Festival, presented by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), marked an action-packed opening Sunday with distinguished guests walking the red carpet at Katara - The Cultural Village to welcome the community for a week-long calendar of cinematic, music, art and other cultural experiences.
Until November 13, the event showcases 85 films from 44 countries, comprising 31 feature films and 54 shorts, from emerging and accomplished talent. The Ajyal Creativity Hub has an array of cultural talks, music performances and the popular Geekdom and Ajyal Art Exhibition.
Celebrating this year’s theme, ‘Press Play!’, Ajyal continues to offer its programme in its innovative hybrid format to ensure not only the safety of visitors but also to expand the festival’s reach to global audiences.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, festival director and CEO of the DFI, said: “In the past two eventful years of uncertainty when the world was brought to a standstill, we at the Institute pressed forward and led our creative community to defeat the challenges we faced and keep the momentum of our growth and successes uninterrupted, by launching one of the first innovative hybrid format cultural celebrations in the world.”
Special guests who walked the red carpet included Amir Jadidi, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Hamid Ghorbani of A Hero; accomplished photographer Brigitte Lacombe, and diplomats including ambassadors Bélen Alfaro (Spain), Moneer Abdulla Ali Ghannam (Palestine) and Jean-Baptiste Faivre (France).
Other special guests included: Sheikh Abdulaziz Thani KH. TH. al-Thani, State Minister with rank of Deputy Prime Minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari, Issa al-Mohannadi, Sheikh Thani bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Ahmad al-Namla, Yasmine Hamdan, Elia Suleiman Saad Burshiad, Mahdi Ali Ali and Hafiz Ali Ali and others.
The festival opened with A Hero (Ghahreman) [Iran/France/2021], directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker and DFI collaborator and Qumra Master Asghar Farhadi. The winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival this year, it is a riveting tale of morality in the age of social media.
This year’s highlights include the Made in Qatar programme presented by Ooredoo, which features 10 films that represent the evolution of Qatar’s homegrown talent and storytellers. Another festival favourite is DFI’s Drive-In cinema at Lusail in partnership with QNTC returns with a diverse line-up of family-friendly titles and midnight horror screenings.
The Ajyal Creativity Hub Sikkat Wadi Msheireb will host the Ajyal Art Exhibition themed, ‘We Will Not Leave’, which presents the works of 27 artists who express the harsh realities of the Palestinians in solidarity with them.
2021 Ajyal Film Festival’s Official Partners include: Katara Cultural Village Foundation– Cultural Partner; Qatar Tourism– Principal Partner; Ooredoo – Strategic Partner; Qatari Diar, Msheireb Properties, W Doha– Signature Sponsors.
Tickets for Ajyal 2021 and can be purchased at www.dohafilminstitute.com/festival.
Celebrating this year’s theme, ‘Press Play!’, Ajyal continues to offer its programme in its innovative hybrid format to ensure not only the safety of visitors but also to expand the festival’s reach to global audiences.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, festival director and CEO of the DFI, said: “In the past two eventful years of uncertainty when the world was brought to a standstill, we at the Institute pressed forward and led our creative community to defeat the challenges we faced and keep the momentum of our growth and successes uninterrupted, by launching one of the first innovative hybrid format cultural celebrations in the world.”
Special guests who walked the red carpet included Amir Jadidi, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Hamid Ghorbani of A Hero; accomplished photographer Brigitte Lacombe, and diplomats including ambassadors Bélen Alfaro (Spain), Moneer Abdulla Ali Ghannam (Palestine) and Jean-Baptiste Faivre (France).
Other special guests included: Sheikh Abdulaziz Thani KH. TH. al-Thani, State Minister with rank of Deputy Prime Minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari, Issa al-Mohannadi, Sheikh Thani bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Ahmad al-Namla, Yasmine Hamdan, Elia Suleiman Saad Burshiad, Mahdi Ali Ali and Hafiz Ali Ali and others.
The festival opened with A Hero (Ghahreman) [Iran/France/2021], directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker and DFI collaborator and Qumra Master Asghar Farhadi. The winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival this year, it is a riveting tale of morality in the age of social media.
This year’s highlights include the Made in Qatar programme presented by Ooredoo, which features 10 films that represent the evolution of Qatar’s homegrown talent and storytellers. Another festival favourite is DFI’s Drive-In cinema at Lusail in partnership with QNTC returns with a diverse line-up of family-friendly titles and midnight horror screenings.
The Ajyal Creativity Hub Sikkat Wadi Msheireb will host the Ajyal Art Exhibition themed, ‘We Will Not Leave’, which presents the works of 27 artists who express the harsh realities of the Palestinians in solidarity with them.
2021 Ajyal Film Festival’s Official Partners include: Katara Cultural Village Foundation– Cultural Partner; Qatar Tourism– Principal Partner; Ooredoo – Strategic Partner; Qatari Diar, Msheireb Properties, W Doha– Signature Sponsors.
Tickets for Ajyal 2021 and can be purchased at www.dohafilminstitute.com/festival.
