The Doha Film Institute (DFI) will show on the big screen Qumra and Ajyal films through their current partnership with VOX Cinemas.
In a press briefing held online with Qumra management, Qumra Deputy Director and DFI Director of Strategy and Development, Hanaa Issa said their objective is to bring the best of contemporary and more arthouse independent cinema to a wider audience.
She explained that DFI will be bringing independent films, focusing especially on DFI-supported films as well as regional films.
The partnership between DFI and VOX Cinemas started in February, when they screened the movie “C’mon C’mon” directed by Mike Mills, this month, from March 24 to 26, they will screen the Moroccan film “Casablanca Beats.” The DFI at VOX project is a year-round initiative wherein every month, it will screen the latest and critically acclaimed releases from the world of independent cinema.
Meanwhile, speaking on Qumra’s edition this year, Issa stressed that the participating films deal with societal dynamics, family issues, generations gaps, and identity.
“More artistic merits, poetry have been the evolution, so we see that trajectory being able to represent society as a cultural legacy. The future is bright and we expect more talents, more stories that resonate with local community and the region,” she explained.
On filmmaking production during the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented times, DFI Artistic Adviser, Elia Suleiman emphasised that young people tend to put an extra effort to express themselves during crisis.
“I think this sort of tendency is bringing them to reflect harder.”
He explained that filmmakers whether they are conscious or unconscious “push themselves and give a little harder look on themselves to make the world a better place.”
Qumra 2022, the annual incubator event by the DFI has over 150 film industry professionals all over the world joining in to nurture 45 film projects by emerging filmmakers in the Arab world and beyond. The event will conclude on March 23.
Of the 45 projects participating, 28 are features, 11 short film projects, six series, with six narrative and documentary features from the country. The recipients of DFI grants are 39, while 26 are supported by DFI training programmes.