The Doha Film Institute will participate in the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival by screening 12 films from the region and presenting multimedia exhibition on the event’s sidelines in collaboration with Qatar Museums.
The Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced its selection of 12 films from the region that will be screened at the upcoming 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival.
In a news release published Tuesday, the DFI revealed that the selection includes films from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen.
The range highlights the “diversity of the Doha Film Institute’s support for independent voices in cinema,” the news release added.
The CEO of DFI, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, said that the Institute’s mission is to “support independent creators in cinema, and the compelling selection at Venice is a testament to our commitment to shed light on stories that transcend borders and present unique perspectives”.
Selected 12 films
- ‘Aïcha’ by Mehdi Barsaoui
- ‘Happy Holidays’ by Scandar Copti
- ‘Shadows’ by Rand Beiruty
- ‘Sudan, Remember Us’ by Hind Meddeb
- ‘Perfumed With Mint’ by Muhammed Hamdy
- ‘Aisha Can’t Fly’ by Morad Mostafa
- ‘In The Darkness I See You’ by Nadim Tabet
- ‘My Father’s Scent’ by Moahmed Siam
- ‘Those Who Watch Over’ by Karima Saidi
- ‘Marie & Jolie’ by Erige Sehiri
- ‘The Station’ by Sara Ishaq
- ‘Theft Of Fire’ by Amer Shomali
What’s at stake?
The 12 DFI-backed titles set to be screened in various sections of the festival.
The Orizzonti section of the festival, Italian for ‘horizons,’ is dedicated to films that showcase the latest aesthetic and expressive trends, with a particular focus on debut titles.
Meanwhile, the Orizzonti Shorts competition is for the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film, assigned by the Jury of the Orizzonti section.
The Giornate section, an independent competition organised by the Associazione Culturale Giornate degli Autori, takes place on the sidelines of the Venice festival. Nine titles will be screened alongside Meddeb’s film, all vying for the Giornate degli Autori Award. This award includes a €20,000 cash prize to support the international promotion of the winning film. Other awards are also up for grabs in this category.
The Internazionale della Critica, or International Critics’ Week, is another independent competition. Seven debut films are competing for prize money ranging from €3,000 to €10,000 as well as award recognitions.
The festival’s Final Cut category for films still in the production phase. The Programme aims to amplify films from Africa, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. The initiative gives producers and directors from those regions the platform to connect with international film professionals and distributors to secure co-production partnerships.
The three-day Venice Gap-Financing Market event aims to support producers from Europe and beyond to secure financing for their projects, whether it be fiction, documentaries or immersive projects.
Multi-media offerings
In addition to the 12 films, the ‘Your Ghosts are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices’ multi-media exhibition will run at the Art Capital Partners – Palazzo Franchetti in Venice.
The exhibition features ten galleries – each journeying visitors through themes such as Arabian deserts being the cradles of civilisation and places of rebirth, ruins and relics of culture, women’s voices in the Middle East and North Africa, borders and demarcations between the permissible and forbidden places as well as exile.
The films include original documentaries, memoirs and animations – unpacking modernity and tradition as well as spirituality in the MENA region within the postcolonial context.
Qatar Museums produced the exhibition with the co-sponsorship of the DFI, the Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art and the future Art Mill Museum.
The Art Capital Partners also collaborated with QM on this project.
