Steady progress is being made in promoting a movie culture in the country with the participation of more and more people into film making and its related activities, noted a young Qatar filmmaker highlighting that 48% of grants by Doha Film Institute (DFI) is allotted to lady filmmakers.
“The film culture is in the early stages of development in the country but we are seeing a huge interest with the participation more people in various fields of film making and there is a huge momentum in the direction,” said, Majid al-Remaihi, while answering a question from Gulf Times.
Al-Remaihi and other film makers of the ‘Made in Qatar’ programme at the 9th Ajyal Film Festival interacted with the media Tuesday giving their perspectives on each of their films.
The ‘Made in Qatar’ Programme comprises of 10 films by Qatar-based filmmakers and they were screened Tuesday at Katara Drama Theatre as well as at Katara Opera House. The programme featured internationally shown and award-winning short documentaries and narratives.
“Made in Qatar is a platform to launch the local film makers and their artistic works. Another highlight of film production in Qatar is its diversity both in form and the backgraound as the country has a large number of people from other countries and it helps to incorporate many of their reflections and cultures very well,” explained, al-Remaihi.
‘And Then They Burn the Sea’ (Qatar/2021), by al-Remaihi is one of the films in the Made in Qatar Programme which is reflection of his personal experience and an ode to his mother who suffered from gradual and terminal memory loss over the course of many years.
The selection of films in the programme also include: Border (Qatar/2021) by Khalifa al-Thani is a DFI supported film, set in an abstrusely dystopian future, where a man wishes to return to his family; Fever Dream (Qatar, Poland, USA/2021) by Ania Hendryx Wójtowicz, a documentary about a reality that is stranger than fiction; Kan Fe Nas (Qatar, Lebanon/2021) by Mohamed al-Hamadi, which documents stories of Lebanese people as they endure daily hardships; and Shaima al-Tamimi’s Don’t Get Too Comfortable (Yemen, UAE, USA, Netherlands, Qatar/2021), which contemplates the continuous pattern of movement amongst Yemenis in the diaspora.
Also included in the screenings are: A Lens Under Water (Qatar/2021)by Fatma Zahra Abderrahim, which takes an eye-opening and colourful dive into the teeming coastal waters of Qatar; the DFI supported Virtual Voice (Qatar, Sudan/2021) by Suzannah Mirghani, is a digital-savvy and satirical review of our online times; and Atlal (Remnants) (Qatar/2021) by Balkees al-Jaafari and Tony El Ghazal, which follows a wistful Palestinian man who embarks on a trip down memory lane to the pivotal locations of his life in Qatar.
When Beirut was Beirut (Qatar, Lebanon/2021) by Alessandra El Chanti, an animated documentary; and Olayan (Qatar/2021) by Khalifa al-Marri, which follows a Bedouin boy named Hamad who forms a bond with a new-born camel, who he calls Olayan.
“The film culture is in the early stages of development in the country but we are seeing a huge interest with the participation more people in various fields of film making and there is a huge momentum in the direction,” said, Majid al-Remaihi, while answering a question from Gulf Times.
Al-Remaihi and other film makers of the ‘Made in Qatar’ programme at the 9th Ajyal Film Festival interacted with the media Tuesday giving their perspectives on each of their films.
The ‘Made in Qatar’ Programme comprises of 10 films by Qatar-based filmmakers and they were screened Tuesday at Katara Drama Theatre as well as at Katara Opera House. The programme featured internationally shown and award-winning short documentaries and narratives.
“Made in Qatar is a platform to launch the local film makers and their artistic works. Another highlight of film production in Qatar is its diversity both in form and the backgraound as the country has a large number of people from other countries and it helps to incorporate many of their reflections and cultures very well,” explained, al-Remaihi.
‘And Then They Burn the Sea’ (Qatar/2021), by al-Remaihi is one of the films in the Made in Qatar Programme which is reflection of his personal experience and an ode to his mother who suffered from gradual and terminal memory loss over the course of many years.
The selection of films in the programme also include: Border (Qatar/2021) by Khalifa al-Thani is a DFI supported film, set in an abstrusely dystopian future, where a man wishes to return to his family; Fever Dream (Qatar, Poland, USA/2021) by Ania Hendryx Wójtowicz, a documentary about a reality that is stranger than fiction; Kan Fe Nas (Qatar, Lebanon/2021) by Mohamed al-Hamadi, which documents stories of Lebanese people as they endure daily hardships; and Shaima al-Tamimi’s Don’t Get Too Comfortable (Yemen, UAE, USA, Netherlands, Qatar/2021), which contemplates the continuous pattern of movement amongst Yemenis in the diaspora.
Also included in the screenings are: A Lens Under Water (Qatar/2021)by Fatma Zahra Abderrahim, which takes an eye-opening and colourful dive into the teeming coastal waters of Qatar; the DFI supported Virtual Voice (Qatar, Sudan/2021) by Suzannah Mirghani, is a digital-savvy and satirical review of our online times; and Atlal (Remnants) (Qatar/2021) by Balkees al-Jaafari and Tony El Ghazal, which follows a wistful Palestinian man who embarks on a trip down memory lane to the pivotal locations of his life in Qatar.
When Beirut was Beirut (Qatar, Lebanon/2021) by Alessandra El Chanti, an animated documentary; and Olayan (Qatar/2021) by Khalifa al-Marri, which follows a Bedouin boy named Hamad who forms a bond with a new-born camel, who he calls Olayan.
