The second edition of the Doha Film Institute’s film festival for youth will be held from Dec. 1 to Dec. 6 at Katara Cultural Village, organizers have announced.

Ajyal debuted last November as a new offering after DFI ended its four-year partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival.

Though attendance was low at the first Ajyal festival in November, many families and Qataris could be seen at the event, which ran with a Japanese animation theme.

Looking forward, Fatma Al Remaihi, Ajyal’s festival director, said in a statement:

“The Ajyal Youth Film Festival was launched with the goal to encourage a love of cinema among the young people of our community and provide a space where they can express themselves through culture and creativity.

The first edition proved that film can truly bring people together and we were overwhelmed by the positive response from our jurors and festival-goers. Through the second edition, we will continue to contribute to the growth of Qatar’s film culture with a program designed to spark young imaginations and inspire the next generation.”

Other festivals

Prior to Ajyal, Al Jazeera is expected to hold the 10th edition of its documentary film festival in October. That event is typically held at the Sheraton Doha each year in April, but was postponed after the hotel closed suddenly for renovations.

The film festival will now be held from Oct. 23 to 26, but the new location has yet to be announced.

DFI has also postponed one of its film festivals this year – the inaugural Qumra Festival for first and second-time film directors.

That event was pushed back from its scheduled date of March 2014 to sometime in 2015, news that was announced shortly after some 40 DFI employees were laid off.

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