BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Qatar Sports Film Festival 2013 (QSFF), the first- of-its-kind in the region, opens tomorrow taking the spotlight on some of the most inspiring sports-themed films from around the world.
Organised by The Youth Company and Qatar Olympic & Sports Museum (QOSM), the two-day festival will kick off at 5pm tomorrow at the Al Riwaq exhibition space where the Olympics — Past and Present is currently held.
A diverse collection of films from countries including Spain, Japan, Australia, Germany, the US, Serbia and the UK and short films from Qatar will be screened at the festival which is open to the public.
Dr Christian Wacker, Director of QOSM, underscored the importance of the festival and the hope it would continue in the future “because one of the objectives of the QOSM is to collect everything about sports and whatever we collect today will be of great value in the future.”
The festival, he said, is under the patronage of prestigious FICTS (Fédération Internationale Cinéma Télévision Sportifs) and comprised two parts: A short films competition for the community and an international section.
“We are confident that the film contest inspires many local filmmakers to present their perspective of sports in Qatar and contribute in this way to the sports heritage,” said Dr Wacker.
Yusuf Hayat, Deputy CEO of The Youth Company, expressed optimism QSFF would contribute to enhancing culture in the field of sports and that its impact would be far and great considering the impressive array of the films.
Aimed at promoting the art of screenwriting and filmmaking in the world of sports and while encouraging engagement with sports and a healthy lifestyle, QSFF 2013 launched last month in which filmmakers and sports fans were encouraged to submit short films that focus on a sport related theme.
From the variety of submissions, which were received from different parts of the world, the top 5 will be screened tomorrow and three winners will receive cash prizes of QR10,000, QR8,000 and QR6,000 and to be further advertised by FICTS.
The line up of films for screening include I Want to Run – The Toughest Race in the World (Germany, 2011), Le Mans: Chasing the Dream (the UK, 2007), Blue Horizon (Australia, 2004), Big Wall Challenge (Japan, 2008), Ginger: More than a Game (Serbia, 2012), and One Revolution – The Story of Chris Waddell’s Journey to the Roof of Africa (the US, 2010). All the films feature individual stories of people, professional sportsmen or sport lovers in racing, mountaineering, surfing, basketball or running, all united by their passion for sports.
The highlight of the festival is the film Soufian: Leo Messi’s Idol (Spain, 2012), telling the story of Soufian Bouyinza Dabbou, an 11-year-old boy, who despite having no legs plays football and basketball like any other schoolboy. He walks with artificial legs that have been fine-tuned so that he can enjoy sports, especially his passion for the Barcelona Football Club and Messi.
The Peninsula
