The upcoming Doha Film Festival has unveiled its 15-title competition lineup made up mostly of Middle East premieres of movies from the region, seven of which directed by women.
As previously announced, Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq’s timely drama “The Station,” which looks at the impact of Yemen’s civil war on the country, is set as opener of the revamped event’s second edition, which will run Nov. 19-27 in the Qatari capital.
Similarly to last year’s inaugural event, the Palestinian plight features prominently in the selection with four Palestinian films in competition. They include: Hosam Abu Dan’s debut feature “Thirteen in Gaza,” shot entirely in the Gaza strip, that won a prize in Toronto; the doc “Sama,” by Rabab Khamis, about a 10-year-old girl from Gaza who collects plastic and cardboard to sell as fuel, which is world-premiering in Doha; and absurdist drama “Conversations with the Sea,” directed by Muayad Alayan, that launched in Venice.
Other standout titles in the Doha competition strand include Moroccan filmmaker and photographer Tala Hadid’s “Bardi” (film still, above) in which “farmers and workers in central Morocco become warriors and princes through Tbourida, a centuries-old equestrian tradition,” as the synopsis puts it. The film recently had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival.
Sub-Saharan Africa is repped by two entries: “House of the Wind” by Cameroon’s Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu that won both the Lion of the Future for a first film and the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize at Venice; and gritty, rap-infused “My Semba,” a portrait of Angola’s underground scene that follows three orphaned siblings in Luanda and blends documentary and fiction filmmaking.
Three entries from Asia include “9 Temples to Heaven,” directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, which follows a family visiting nine temples in a single day in the hope of keeping their grandmother alive. The film is Thailand’s international Oscar submission.
Eleven of the 15 titles that will screen in Doha are supported by the Doha Film Institute.
“Cinema has the power to carry voices across borders and create connections where distance and difference might otherwise divide us,” said Doha Film Institute CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi in a statement. “Doha Film Festival was created to give those voices a home, particularly filmmakers who challenge conventions to bring unheard stories to the screen and demonstrate the possibilities of independent cinema,” she added.
The revamped Doha Film Festival has transformed the DFI’s existing Ajyal Film Festival, dedicated to youth and family-friendly cinema, into a more ambitious international event for a broader audience.
The top prizes to be dished out will be: best narrative, worth $75,000; documentary, worth $50,000; artistic achievement, worth $45,000; and the gender-neutral performance acting award, worth $15,000.
Key partners of the Doha Film Festival include Katara, Media City Qatar – Film Committee, and Visit Qatar.
See the full Doha Film Festival competition lineup below.
“Thirteen in Gaza,” Hosam Abu Dan
“Sama,” Rabab Khamis
“Conversation with the Sea,” Muayad Alayan
“Revolutionaries Never Die,” Mohanad Yaqubi
“Concrete Land,” Asmahan Bkerat
“Bardi,” Tala Hadid
“The Station,” Sara Ishaq
“House of the Wind,” Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
“My Semba,” Hugo Salvaterra
“9 Temples to Heaven,” Sompot Chidgasornpongse
“A Girl Unknown,” Zou Jing
“Filipiñana,” Rafael Manuel
“The Meltdown,” Manuela Martelli
“The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer,” Alessandra Sanguinetti
“Tin Castle,” Alexander Murphy
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