DOHA: Two films funded by Doha Film Institute (DFI) are among those to be shown tonight at the third annual Ajyal Youth Film Festival at Katara.
DFI grant recipient Very Big Shot will mark its regional premiere. The directorial debut of Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, the film is a bold dark comedy that skewers political corruption and the media circus that goes with it. It depicts the lives of three brothers — Jad, who serves five years behind the bars for a crime committed by his elder brother Ziad, and their middle brother Joe. It will be screened at 7pm at Katara Opera House.
Also funded by DFI, Lamb is a coming-of-age drama about nine-year-old Ephraim, directed by Yared Zeleke. After his mother dies, his father sends him to stay with his extended family in southern Ethiopia. The boy’s comfort is his late mother’s sheep Chuni but when his uncle demands that it be slaughtered, Ephraim devices a plan to save it.
The film will be shown at 9pm at Katara Drama Theatre.
A deeply moving Filipino film Scarecrow will be screened at 9.15pm at Katara 12 Theatre B. Directed by Zig Madamba Dulay, the film explores the complicated relationship of social injustice, privilege and familial expectations through the eyes of Belyn, who is widowed, illiterate and terribly poor. She lives with her three children in a poor town; when a gold watch goes missing, her son is presumed to be the culprit.
Afghan drama Mina Walking directed by Yosef Baraki will be shown at 8.30pm at Katara 12 Theatre A. The film charts the life of 12-year-old Mina saddled with caring for her senile grandfather and supporting her layabout father by selling trinkets on the streets of Kabul. When one fateful decision starts a chain of events, she cannot control, Mina finds herself backed to a corner.
Directed by Robert Connolly, Paper Planes will be screened at 6pm at Katara Drama Theatre.
A celebration of talent and encouragement, the film soars through a tale of friendship, creativity and bonds of family and community through the life of 11-year-old Dylan. When he discovers his talent, he competes at the national level. Soon he is on the way to the world championships in Japan but only if he can come up with the money to get there.
The first free outdoor screening starts today under the Sony Cinema Under the Stars programme with the film The General, a silent movie considered one of the best action-adventure comedies of all time. It will be shown at 8pm at Katara.
The Peninsula
