DOHA: Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced acclaimed filmmakers James Schamus and Joshua Oppenheimer as the final two Masters for the second edition of Qumra to be held from March 4 to 9.
The announcement was made at the Berlin International Film Festival where eight DFI grant recipients are screening their films in the official selection.
Schamus and Oppenheimer, along with other Qumra Masters Naomi Kawase (Japan), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey) and Aleksandr Sokurov (Russia), will mentor first and second-time filmmakers at the new initiative to support the development of emerging filmmakers from Qatar, the Arab region and around the world.
Schamus is a film historian and academic and Oppenheimer Artistic Director, Centre for Documentary and Experimental Film, University of Westminster in London.
“We are privileged to have Schamus and Oppenheimer participate as Qumra Masters this year,” said Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO, DFI. “Both filmmakers, while very different in style, are ground-breaking in their fields and bring a wealth of experience to Qumra that will be invaluable for young filmmakers participating.
“We look forward to welcoming James and Joshua to the Gulf for the first time and enabling our Qumra 2016 participants to establish a connection with the two leaders of independent filmmaking in the US.
“We are also pleased to have the opportunity to showcase their works through our Qumra screenings at Museum of Islamic Art, a cultural landmark in the region and the perfect setting for Qumra this year.”
Schamus, a multi award-winning screenwriter, director and leading US indie producer, is best known for his long creative collaboration with Taiwanese director Ang Lee. He has worked with Lee on nine films, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which won four Academy awards and remains the highest-grossing non-English-language film in the US.
As a producer, Schamus co-founded the US powerhouse production company Good Machine in the early 1990s, and from 2002 to 2014 was CEO, Focus Features.
In 2014, he turned his hand to directing with the short documentary That Film About Money (2014), and this year made his feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Philip Roth’s Indignation.
Two-time Academy award nominee Oppenheimer’s debut feature-length film The Act of Killing (2012) was nominated for the award for Best Documentary Feature Film, named Film of the Year by The Guardian and the Sight and Sound Film Poll, and won 72 international awards. His second film The Look of Silence (2014) had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it won five awards, including the Grand Jury Prize, the FIPRESCI Prize and the FEDEORA Prize.
It was nominated for the 2016 Oscar for Best Documentary Film, and has received 66 international awards. Schamus and Oppenheimer will participate in master classes and one-on-one sessions with participating Qumra projects, along with screenings and question-and-answer sessions for Doha audiences. The Peninsula
DOHA: Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced acclaimed filmmakers James Schamus and Joshua Oppenheimer as the final two Masters for the second edition of Qumra to be held from March 4 to 9.
The announcement was made at the Berlin International Film Festival where eight DFI grant recipients are screening their films in the official selection.
Schamus and Oppenheimer, along with other Qumra Masters Naomi Kawase (Japan), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey) and Aleksandr Sokurov (Russia), will mentor first and second-time filmmakers at the new initiative to support the development of emerging filmmakers from Qatar, the Arab region and around the world.
Schamus is a film historian and academic and Oppenheimer Artistic Director, Centre for Documentary and Experimental Film, University of Westminster in London.
“We are privileged to have Schamus and Oppenheimer participate as Qumra Masters this year,” said Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO, DFI. “Both filmmakers, while very different in style, are ground-breaking in their fields and bring a wealth of experience to Qumra that will be invaluable for young filmmakers participating.
“We look forward to welcoming James and Joshua to the Gulf for the first time and enabling our Qumra 2016 participants to establish a connection with the two leaders of independent filmmaking in the US.
“We are also pleased to have the opportunity to showcase their works through our Qumra screenings at Museum of Islamic Art, a cultural landmark in the region and the perfect setting for Qumra this year.”
Schamus, a multi award-winning screenwriter, director and leading US indie producer, is best known for his long creative collaboration with Taiwanese director Ang Lee. He has worked with Lee on nine films, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which won four Academy awards and remains the highest-grossing non-English-language film in the US.
As a producer, Schamus co-founded the US powerhouse production company Good Machine in the early 1990s, and from 2002 to 2014 was CEO, Focus Features.
In 2014, he turned his hand to directing with the short documentary That Film About Money (2014), and this year made his feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Philip Roth’s Indignation.
Two-time Academy award nominee Oppenheimer’s debut feature-length film The Act of Killing (2012) was nominated for the award for Best Documentary Feature Film, named Film of the Year by The Guardian and the Sight and Sound Film Poll, and won 72 international awards. His second film The Look of Silence (2014) had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it won five awards, including the Grand Jury Prize, the FIPRESCI Prize and the FEDEORA Prize.
It was nominated for the 2016 Oscar for Best Documentary Film, and has received 66 international awards. Schamus and Oppenheimer will participate in master classes and one-on-one sessions with participating Qumra projects, along with screenings and question-and-answer sessions for Doha audiences. The Peninsula
