The Doha Film Institute (DFI) will make a series of film screenings in the run up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, aimed at highlighting the works and creativity of filmmakers in the country and the region, DFI CEO Fatma Alremaihi said.
“We will hold film screenings in the M7 at Msheireb Downtown Doha,” she explained on the sidelines of the recently-held Qatar Creates event.
Alremaihi said DFI will also put a spotlight on this year’s Ajyal Film Festival, divided into two parts and set to take place between October and November.
The first part is for the jury programme, scheduled for the beginning of October, featuring the regular competition, shorts, features, and documentaries, as well as the Talk with filmmakers.
In November, she said the annual event “will have a showcase of everything related to the film industry in Qatar in different locations and environments,” in addition to art exhibitions, Geekdom, and music concerts, among other activations.
According to Alremaihi, part of DFI’s plan also includes showcasing the evolution of Qatar’s film industry and what it has achieved in more than a decade.
“The industry is booming,” she stressed, noting that Qatari and Doha-based filmmakers are not just making films as a hobby but taking their careers seriously.
“We are proud of our filmmakers….their films are selected in major festivals around the world and are actually winning many awards. It is very rewarding to see all the hard work that has been done, and the grounds have been building over the years step by step to see this result.
“We always hope for more, so all of these filmmakers have finished their short films, they are now working on their features and this will be the next step for Qatar. And we already have people like Suzannah Mirghani, a Qatar resident whose short film won every award you can think of around the world,” Alremaihi said. “Now her feature was selected in Cannes, and won the prize so we are very proud to be behind all of these filmmakers supporting them all the time.”
According to DFI, Mirghani is the writer, director, and producer of ‘Al-Sit’ (2020), which bagged 18 international awards, including three Academy Award qualifying prizes in 2021: Best of Fest at LA Shorts; Grand Prix at Tampere Film Festival; and Best Short Film at BronzeLens.
Her latest short, ‘Virtual Voice’ (2021), had its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. Her latest film, 'Cotton Queen' (Sudan, Qatar), was screened in the Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des réalisateurs), an independent selection at the Cannes Film Festival.
Alremaihi said that hopefully, residents and visitors will see local feature films being screened in commercial cinemas soon.
“We will hold film screenings in the M7 at Msheireb Downtown Doha,” she explained on the sidelines of the recently-held Qatar Creates event.
Alremaihi said DFI will also put a spotlight on this year’s Ajyal Film Festival, divided into two parts and set to take place between October and November.
The first part is for the jury programme, scheduled for the beginning of October, featuring the regular competition, shorts, features, and documentaries, as well as the Talk with filmmakers.
In November, she said the annual event “will have a showcase of everything related to the film industry in Qatar in different locations and environments,” in addition to art exhibitions, Geekdom, and music concerts, among other activations.
According to Alremaihi, part of DFI’s plan also includes showcasing the evolution of Qatar’s film industry and what it has achieved in more than a decade.
“The industry is booming,” she stressed, noting that Qatari and Doha-based filmmakers are not just making films as a hobby but taking their careers seriously.
“We are proud of our filmmakers….their films are selected in major festivals around the world and are actually winning many awards. It is very rewarding to see all the hard work that has been done, and the grounds have been building over the years step by step to see this result.
“We always hope for more, so all of these filmmakers have finished their short films, they are now working on their features and this will be the next step for Qatar. And we already have people like Suzannah Mirghani, a Qatar resident whose short film won every award you can think of around the world,” Alremaihi said. “Now her feature was selected in Cannes, and won the prize so we are very proud to be behind all of these filmmakers supporting them all the time.”
According to DFI, Mirghani is the writer, director, and producer of ‘Al-Sit’ (2020), which bagged 18 international awards, including three Academy Award qualifying prizes in 2021: Best of Fest at LA Shorts; Grand Prix at Tampere Film Festival; and Best Short Film at BronzeLens.
Her latest short, ‘Virtual Voice’ (2021), had its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. Her latest film, 'Cotton Queen' (Sudan, Qatar), was screened in the Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des réalisateurs), an independent selection at the Cannes Film Festival.
Alremaihi said that hopefully, residents and visitors will see local feature films being screened in commercial cinemas soon.
