DOHA: Ninety films from 43 countries will be screened at the second edition of the Ajyal Youth Film Festival being organised by Doha Film Institute (DFI) on December 1-6 at Katara.
The films will be shown at five venues, including Katara Drama Theatre, Katara Opera House and two cinemas in Building 12 and the Sony Pop-Up Cinema in Katara Esplanade.
“For six days we are going to screen 90 films from 43 countries. Apart from the screenings, there will be special events, exhibitions, workshops, live performances and Q&A sessions,” Fatma Al Remaihi, Festival Director and Acting CEO, DFI, told a press conference yesterday at Katara.
A highlight is a selected collection of feature films with wide ranging themes for young audience and movie fans.
“One of the things that is remarkable this year is out of the 21 feature films, 10 are by first-and second-time filmmakers, which highlights DFI’s mission to support emerging filmmakers all over the world,” said Chadi Zeneddine, Resident Filmmaker and Programmer, DFI.
Among the films by first- and second-time filmmakers are Macondo (Austria, Germany) by Sudabeh Mortezai, Antboy (Denmark) by Ask Hasselbalch, #chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes On a Dictator (US, Syria) by Joe Piscatella and Speed Sisters (US, Qatar) by Amber Fares which will be the festival’s opening film.
Another highlight is the Mena premiere of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet (France, Lebanon, Qatar, US), produced by and starring Salma Hayek-Pinault, who will attend the festival.
Other guests include Director Roger Allers and Chapter Directors Joan Graetz and Mohammed Saeed Harib, Speed Sisters Director Amber Fares, team members who star in the documentary and Jordanian Director Naji Abu Nowar who will present Theeb (Jordan, Qatar, UAE, UK), one of award-winning films in the programme.
“The heart of the initiative is our youth jury programme — Doha Film Experience — where we have 450 young people participating from all over the world.
They include 25 delegates from 12 countries, including Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia and the UAE,” said Al Remaihi.
“Our jurors will have the chance to connect with other young people developing analytical abilities and discovering new perspectives through cinema.
“Sixty-one films will be viewed and critiqued by our juries — from short films, documentaries and narrative features,” added Al Remaihi. The programme is for four age groups — Bader category for ages 18-21, Hilal (13-17), Mohaq (8-12) and Bariq (4 year up). The jury will select five best filmmakers for awards — one short film each from Bader, Hilal and Mohaq categories and two feature films from Hilal and Bader categories.
Winners in the short categories will receive QR18,000 while QR55,000 will be given to winners in the feature film section, said Al Remaihi. Twenty films made by Doha-based Qatari and expatriate filmmakers will also be screened.
There will also be activities on the sidelines such as Family Weekend comprising creative and cultural activities, The Sandbox digital play space, a photo expo, In Conversation with Roger Allers and Mohammed Saeed Harib and Sony Pop-up cinema.
Tickets will go on sale on November 18 at the festival booths at City Centre and Katara.
The Peninsula
