Filmmakers from Qatar including Ali M AlHajri, Aisha Al Jaidah, Adnan Nassari, Amal Al Muftah, Dhoha Abdelsattar, Kummam Al Maadeed and Hamad Alfayhani attending a Qumra event recently.
Doha, Qatar: Homegrown filmmakers whose projects have been selected for mentoring at the tenth edition of Qumra, the annual talent incubator event by the Doha Film Institute, said the support and guidance they receive at the event has been invaluable in finding their own unique cinematic voice and realising their creative aspirations.
This year, 13 projects from Qatar are part of Qumra, including 11 by nationals. They receive guidance from this year’s luminaries in world cinema – Qumra Masters Toni Colette, Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Martín Hernández, and Jim Sheridan – as well as over 200 international industry professionals. The nurturing covers every aspect of filmmaking – from scripting to production, post-production and marketing.
Amal Al Muftah, Director of ‘Before the Day Breaks’ (Qatar), said: “I think the challenge we face as Qatari filmmakers is to find our voice. Being a part of DFI allowed us to mature and have a collective voice. Cinema, for me, is about both being selfish in wanting to tell your own story and selfless in wanting people to feel the emotions you are interpreting.”
Theatre of Dreams (Qatar) is a short documentary by Fatma Al Ghanim about the courage and hidden sacrifices of the first Qatar Women’s National Football Team that also explores themes of identity and belonging.
Kummam Al Maadeed and Abeer Al Kubaisi introduced their short film Becoming a Vampire (Qatar). It is about a Qatari girl Sara who struggles with her draining corporate job and the social pressure from her mother. “We are tackling a story of our community. There weren’t any restrictions or obligations on the theme, and we were able to script a universal story because DFI supported us to share more accurate realities of life as a woman in Qatar.”
Ali Al Hajiri, director of I Lay to Wait for You to Sleep (Qatar) said his film is about grief and mourning. “It was my way to connect with myself and reconcile with my grief through moving images after the years I had spent suppressing my emotions.”
In his project I Wished for Solitude (Qatar), Hamad Alfayhani portrays an emotional story about a young man who struggles with the news that he is losing his face.
Adnan Nassari has a shocking personal story what he wants to tell the world through his silent film, which is a message against geographical barriers. His project Autumn (Qatar, Iran) along with Aisha Al Jaidah is a romantic tragedy of the captivity of ambitious thoughts under short roofs. “These ideas are related to my own emotions, story and sufferings. I believe films should reflect human issues. My film follows three main characters who will tell their stories in a silent way.”
The Myth of Mahmoud (Palestine, USA, Lebanon, Kenya, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar) by Mayar Hamdan and Shaima Al Tamimi captures a Palestinian family who made Doha their home 60 years ago, once again grappling with the dilemma of moving or fighting to remain. The filmmakers said: “Our film talks about a Palestinian family - our family - so it is a way for us to process emotions and dissect generational trauma. And we are trying to tell the facts creatively.”
