DFI will celebrate Qatari filmmakers at Focus On Qatar 2016 from October 5 to 7.
The Doha Film Institute will be celebrating local documentary filmmakers this week. Focus on Qatar will be held at the Museum of Islamic Art, from October 5 until 7, to highlight the talent of Qatari filmmakers and their contribution to the country’s growing film industry.
Alongside special screenings of locally produced documentaries, the event will feature discussions and lectures, on the films themselves as well as the art of filmmaking in general. The exhibition will also have a special section dedicated to honor and recognize the work of Al Jazeera Documentary channels, which are pioneers in Arab documentary-making.
Focus on Qatar 2016 will open doors at 7:30 PM, and will screen Qatari documentaries produced by independent directors, Northwestern University in Qatar students, as well as filmmakers from the Doha Film Institute’s training program. After each film, the audience will have a chance to interact with the filmmaker and get to ask questions.
On October 6, the night will feature a special Al Jazeera Documentary Network Showcase at 7.30 PM, highlighting Al Jazeera’s role in Arab documentary-making and celebrating their leadership.
And on the final day of Focus on Qatar, two panel discussions and an informal reception for production companies will be hosted. The first panel, The State of Documentary in the Gulf, will start at 4 PM to discuss funding opportunities, theatrical release, film festivals, television, online portals and other new broadcast platforms to help independent Gulf filmmakers.
The documentaries to be screened include:
Bader (Qatar, USA, Syria/2012) by Sara Al-Saadi, Maaria Assami and Latifa Al-Darwish
Al 7amal (Qatar/2015) by Amal Al Muftah
The Palm Tree (Qatar/2015) by Jassim Al-Rumaihi (Made in Qatar award winner for best documentary at Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2015)
Inside Out (Qatar/2015) by Fahad Al-Obaidly and Salwa Al Khalifa
To My Mother (Qatar/2015) by Amina Ahmed Al Bloshi
The Notebook (Qatar/2015) by Amna Al-Binali
Mubarak Al Malik (Qatar/2016) by Aisha R. Al Muhannadi
Tickets are for free. For more info click here.
