DOHA: Documentary film directors and producers from around the world will converge tonight at Ritz-Carlton Doha for the 10th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival opening ceremony.
Prior to the opening, 30 short films will be shown starting at 9am at four screening halls in the venue.
Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, Chairman, Board of Directors, Al Jazeera Satellite Network, will address the opening, highlighting the significance of the 10th edition, which has the theme ‘Steps’, and its activities.
“We stop the camera for a while to review the journey and envisage the future. Hence, we chose ‘Steps’ as a motto for this edition. Steps we have taken and are taking towards a better future and better communication among peoples,” he said in the preface of the festival book.
The ceremony, to be hosted by Al Jazeera English journalist Sana’ Hamoush, will also feature the presentation of an honorary award to a distinguished and creative figure and the screening of the opening film Broken Strings. It is directed by Ahmed Hassouna and is about children of Gaza.
Festival Director, Abbas Arnaout, said the festival provides diverse activities, including film screenings in various categories, media workshops that are held for the first time, book launch and an exhibition that hosts Arab and foreign TV stations, productions firms and publishers.
He said journalists would have the opportunity to attend the seminars that will feature the directors of 10 successful films from previous editions. These films will also be screened.
He said the most prominent event is the launch of the Documentary Film Festival Meeting, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the world which will host a large number of documentary festivals under its umbrella.
He said festival directors will meet annually to exchange thoughts, foster the documentary film culture, and support creative directors, producers, and cameramen to launch them.
They will also discuss the possibility of dedicating awards to winning films and establishing partnerships with international organisations like Unesco.
The Peninsula
