Doha Film Festival Unveils 15-Film Competition Lineup

The Doha Film Festival will screen 15 competition titles at its second edition, running Nov. 19-27 in the Qatari capital, with seven of the films directed by women and most premiering in the Middle East for the first time.

Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq's drama "The Station," which examines the impact of Yemen's civil war on the country, opens the festival, as previously announced. The event replaces the Doha Film Institute's Ajyal Film Festival, which was dedicated to youth and family-friendly cinema, with a more ambitious international format for a broader audience.

Palestinian cinema takes a prominent place in the selection with four films in competition:

• Hosam Abu Dan's debut feature "Thirteen in Gaza," shot entirely in the Gaza Strip and a prize winner in Toronto;
• Rabab Khamis's documentary "Sama," about a 10-year-old Gaza girl who collects plastic and cardboard to sell as fuel, world-premiering in Doha;
• Muayad Alayan's absurdist drama "Conversations with the Sea," which launched in Venice;
• Mohanad Yaqubi's "Revolutionaries Never Die."

Which other titles anchor the competition?

Moroccan filmmaker and photographer Tala Hadid's "Bardi" stands out in the strand. In the film, "farmers and workers in central Morocco become warriors and princes through Tbourida, a centuries-old equestrian tradition," according to the synopsis. "Bardi" had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival.

Sub-Saharan Africa is represented by two entries. "House of the Wind" by Cameroon's Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu won both the Lion of the Future for a first film and the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize at Venice. "My Semba," a gritty, rap-infused portrait of Angola's underground scene, follows three orphaned siblings in Luanda and blends documentary and fiction filmmaking.

Asia contributes three titles, including "9 Temples to Heaven," directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, which follows a family visiting nine temples in a single day in the hope of keeping their grandmother alive. The film is Thailand's international Oscar submission.

What are the prizes?

The festival will award:

• Best narrative: $75,000
• Best documentary: $50,000
• Artistic achievement: $45,000
• Gender-neutral performance acting award: $15,000

Eleven of the 15 competition titles are supported by the Doha Film Institute. Key partners of the festival include Katara, Media City Qatar – Film Committee, and Visit Qatar.

"Cinema has the power to carry voices across borders and create connections where distance and difference might otherwise divide us," Doha Film Institute CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi said in a statement. "Doha Film Festival was created to give those voices a home, particularly filmmakers who challenge conventions to bring unheard stories to the screen and demonstrate the possibilities of independent cinema," she added.

The full competition lineup

• "Thirteen in Gaza," Hosam Abu Dan
• "Sama," Rabab Khamis
• "Conversation with the Sea," Muayad Alayan
• "Revolutionaries Never Die," Mohanad Yaqubi
• "Concrete Land," Asmahan Bkerat
• "Bardi," Tala Hadid
• "The Station," Sara Ishaq
• "House of the Wind," Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
• "My Semba," Hugo Salvaterra
• "9 Temples to Heaven," Sompot Chidgasornpongse
• "A Girl Unknown," Zou Jing
• "Filipiñana," Rafael Manuel
• "The Meltdown," Manuela Martelli
• "The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer," Alessandra Sanguinetti
• "Tin Castle," Alexander Murphy

With 11 of its 15 competition titles developed through the Doha Film Institute, the festival's second edition positions Doha as both producer and presenter of independent cinema from the Middle East, Africa and beyond.