DOHA: Paper Planes (Australia; 2014) directed by Robert Connolly; Scarecrow (The Philippines, 2015) directed by Zig Madamba Dulay; and Walls (Spain; 2015) directed by Pablo Iraburu and Migueltxo Molina won the top honours at the third Ajyal Youth Film Festival, which concluded here yesterday. The 2015 Ajyal Youth Film Festival Competition Winners in different categories are: MOHAQ HILAL BADER: BARIQ: Parent’s Choice Award: The Law of the Jungle by Pascale Hecquet (Belgium) Documentary Category Narrative Category The Peninsula The Peninsula
The three films were voted as winners by 520 jurors aged 8 to 21 in three categories — Mohaq, Hilal and Bader — respectively. Films from Russia, US, Spain, Germany, Lebanon, France and Brazil are among the winners in short films category and those who received Special Mentions by the jury. The festival was organised by the Doha Film Institute.
Paper Planes is about an 11-year-old boy who must come up with funds to enter a world paper plane championship competition; Scarecrow is a deeply moving Tagalog film on the life of a widowed, illiterate woman in a rural Philippine province; and the Spanish film Walls takes a compelling look at lives on either side of the world’s border walls.
The winners were honoured at a colourful closing ceremony followed by the World Premiere of Bilal (UAE; 2015), directed by Ayman Jamal and Khurram H Alavi. Cast members Andre Robinson and Jacob Latimore were present along with the composer of the impressive score, Atil Orvarsson.
Fatma Al Remaihi, Festival Director and CEO of the Doha Film Institute, said: “I would like to commend our Ajyal jurors for the dedication and enthusiasm they have brought to the task of determining the competition winners this year — their enthusiasm and insight is an inspiration to us all. I congratulate all of our 2015 winners and sincerely thank all of the filmmakers who have joined us in Doha this week for sharing their stories and creative talents.”
Best Feature Film: Paper Planes by Robert Connolly (Australia); Special Mention: Celestial Camel (Nebesnyy verblyud) by Yury Feting (Russia); Best Short Film : The Red Thunder by Alvaro Ron (Spain, US)
Best Feature Film: Scarecrow (Bambanti) by Zig Madamba Dulay (The Philippines)
Special Mention: Landfill Harmonic by Graham Townsley and Brad Allgood (US)
Best Short Film: wHole by Robert Banning and Verena Klinger (Germany)
Special Mention: That Day in September by Karim Jaafar (Lebanon)
Best Feature Film: Walls (Muros) by Pablo Iraburu and Migueltxo Molina (Spain); Special Mention: The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?) by Anna Muylaert (Brazil); Best Short Film: By Mutual Agreement by Rémy Cayuela (France)
Jurors aged eight to 12 watched one programme of short films and four feature-length films in Mohaq; those aged 13 to 17 evaluated five feature films and a programme of shorts in Hilal; and jurors aged 18 to 21 adjudged five feature films and two programmes of short films in Bader.
The jury included 24 international jurors who travelled to Doha for the event from 12 countries, including Australia, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Serbia, Turkey and the UAE.
Earlier, the festival honoured the winners in the ‘Made in Qatar’ category that included 17 films by Qatari filmmakers and those who call Qatar home. The winners were:
Best Documentary Film: The Palm Tree by Jassim Al Rumaihi; Jury Award: Heart of the House by Gabrielle Sol; and Special Mention: The Notebook by Amna Al Binali
Best Narrative Film: Asfoora by Mayar Hamdan; and Jury Award: Man of the House by Khalifa AlMarri
