DOHA: Twenty-four of 30 recipients of Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) Fall 2015 grants programme are from Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
DFI announced the recipients yesterday following the Dubai International Film Festival, where 15 of DFI’s previous recipients, four of which are world premieres, were showcased.
The 30 projects come from 19 countries and comprise 16 feature-length narrative films, 10 feature documentaries and four short films. They will receive funding for development, production or post-production.
Of the recipients, four are by Qatar-based filmmakers, including Hafiz Ali Abdullah’s The Search for the Star Pearl about a young pearl diver from Doha who discovers a map to the most valuable gem on Earth, and sets sail with three teenaged friends in search of it; Hamida Al Kawari’s To the Ends of the Earth, the first Qatari feature documentary to receive a grant from DFI – which follows a Qatari woman on an environmental expedition to Antarctica in search of hope; A J Al Thani’s Kashta, a family drama about a father who takes his sons out into the desert to teach them about hunting and survival; and Hend Fakhroo’s The Waiting Room about an Arab and a Western family who find themselves sharing a hospital room.
For the first time, filmmakers from Chile, Peru and Spain will receive funding. The selected projects include five from Morocco – Fyzal Boulifa’s Pagan Magic, second-time recipient Uda Benyamina’s Bastard, Yakout Elhababi’s Behind the Doors, Hind Bensari’s Weight Throwers, and Behind The Wall by Karima Zoubir.
Three recipients are animation projects, including filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour’s Miss Camel, Mortada Gzar’s Language and Hafiz Ali Abdullah’s The Search for the Star Pearl.
As in previous sessions of the programme, projects from Argentina have also secured funding, including Milagros Mumenthaler’s The Idea of a Lake and Maximiliano Schonfeld’s The Black Frost.
Heidi Brandenburg and Mathew Orzel’s When Two Worlds Collide, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is the first Peruvian recipient of a grant from DFI.
Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO, DFI, said: “Our recipients represent the core of DFI’s mandate to support emerging filmmakers and contribute to the development of the regional film industry. We have supported over 255 films since the inception of the programme and continue to seek out projects with a strong directorial vision that are challenging, creative and thought-provoking. Our new round of recipients is no exception and I am delighted to welcome the projects to our growing community of recipient alumni.”
In its 11th session, the programme supports new cinematic talent, with a focus on first- and second-time filmmakers.
Submissions for the next funding round open on January 6 and close on January 19. Funding is available to projects by filmmakers from around the world, with an emphasis on support for filmmakers from Mena.
The Peninsula
