The upcoming Doha Film Festival will feature the world premieres of four feature films from Qatar, in what is being touted as a milestone. The tiny Arab state, which is rich in oil and gas, is branching out from the energy sector into the media and entertainment sphere. The revamped fest, now at its second edition, has from its inception included a Made in Qatar competition strand dedicated solely to short films.
But these four features from Qatar are instead bowing separately as special screenings. They include inspirational documentary “First to Fly” (pictured above) by Rodrigo Vazquez Salessi, about two young Arab gymnasts who became the first athletes in Qatar’s history to compete at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships; Qatar-Morocco co-production “A Very Ordinary Life,” a drama directed by Mohamed Deniz, about a retired Qatari pilot and a young Moroccan art teacher who are, unknowingly, father and daughter; Qatari filmmaker, freediver and spear fisherman Jamal Al Khanji’s documentary “Jodari Meno,” about the director’s quest to land a world-record dogtooth tuna; and “When the News Breaks You,” a doc by Qatari filmmaker Hamad Al Hajri that examines the challenges faced by journalists working across Middle East war zones. Rounding out the Qatari selection is a special episode of “Elzam, a documentary series produced by Katara Studios that follows a group of falconers on hunting expeditions, delving into a tradition that is a source of pride in Qatar and the wider Arab world.
As previously announced, the Doha Film Festival will comprise a 15-title competition lineup made up mostly of Middle East premieres of movies from the region, seven of which are directed by women. Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq’s timely drama “The Station” — exploring the impact of Yemen’s civil war on the country — is set as opener of the festival, which will run Nov. 19-27 in the Qatari capital.
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