The Doha Film Institute’s 2024 spring grants will support 44 projects from 17 countries, including Mahdi Fleifel’s crime thriller premiering at Cannes.

The Doha Film Institute (DFI) announced that 44 projects from 17 countries will be recipients of its 2024 spring grants cycle.

Among the selections is Mahdi Fleifel’s crime thriller To A Land Unknown, set to premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes on May 22.

Out of the 44 projects selected, 25 are by women filmmakers, with 14 from returning DFI grantees.

Fleifel, a Palestinian-Danish filmmaker and graduate of the UK’s National Film and Television School, makes his fiction feature debut with this film.

To A Land Unknown follows a Palestinian refugee living on the fringes of Athens society who seeks revenge on the smuggler who deceived him. The film received a post-production grant under DFI’s Middle East-North Africa (MENA) feature narrative strand.

Another recipient of a post-production grant is Maltese filmmaker Alex Camilleri for his second feature, Zejtune.

This non-MENA feature narrative tells the story of a woman determined to claim her family inheritance and leave Malta, only to be influenced by an elderly troubadour.

Camilleri previously directed Luzzu, which debuted at Sundance in 2021 and earned the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for acting for Jesmark Scicluna.

Another Day Shall Come by Aida Kaadan is an audio-visual portrait of silenced Palestinians living in Israel during the war on Gaza.

“The founding objective of our Grants programme is to build a new collective of authentic voices who bring diversity and depth to the medium of cinema and encourage cross-cultural exchange and dialogue,” said DFI CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi.

“We are particularly excited about the notable presence of female talent, who represent the bold new energy of filmmaking in the Arab world.”

The DFI 2024 Spring Grants recipients include:

• Al-Dana (Qatar) by Nora Al-Subai tells the story of a woman in a man’s world who embarks on a Pearl Diving adventure to reclaim her freedom, find the famous black pearl, and heal old wounds.
• Running With Beasts (Lebanon, Czech Republic, Qatar) by Leila Basma.
• Marie and Jolie (Tunisia, France, Qatar) by Erige Sehiri.
• Sound of Silence (Lebanon, France, Greece, UK, Qatar) by Joyce A. Nashawati.
• To a Land Unknown (Palestine, UK, Greece, Netherlands, France, Germany, Qatar) by Mahdi Fleifel.
• Yunan (Syria, Germany, Canada, Italy, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) by Ameer Fakher Eldin.
• The Settlement (Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar) by Mohamed Rashad.
• Nomadish (Morocco, Hungary, Qatar) by Yassine Marco Marroccu.
• Agora (Tunisia, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) by Ala Eddine Slim.
• Żejtune (Malta, Germany, Qatar) by Alex Camilleri.
• The Botanist (China, Qatar) by Jing Yi.
• Another Birth (Tajikistan, USA, Germany, Qatar) by Isabelle Kalandar.
• Horizon (Colombia, France, Luxembourg, Chili, Qatar) by César Augusto Acevedo.
• Tale Of The Land (Indonesia, The Philippines, Qatar) by Loeloe Hendra.
• The Fin (South Korea, Germany, Qatar) by Syeyoung Park.
• Flying Elephants (Lebanon, France, Qatar) by Mona Khaouli.
• Just Like a Dream (Lebanon, Qatar) by Corine Shawi.
• Road Trip (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Linda Qibaa.
• Speak Image, Speak (Palestine, Germany, Qatar) by Pary El-Qalqili.
• Flower of the Sands (Morocco, Qatar) by Jaouad Babili.
• Climbing the Mountains (Algeria, France, Germany, Qatar) by Sabrina Chebbi.
• She Was Not Alone (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, USA, Qatar) by Hussein Al-Asadi.
• Those Who Watch Over (Morocco, Belgium, Qatar) by Karima Saidi.
• Ground Zero (Palestine, Qatar) a collective shorts project with 22 directors from Gaza that preserves the barely heard voices, experiences and memories of artistic talents from the besieged Gaza Strip.
• Moondove (Lebanon, Netherlands, Qatar) by Karim Kassem.
• Cutting Through Rocks (Iran, Germany, Qatar) by Sara Khaki and Mohammad Reza Eyni.
• Requiem for a Tribe (Iran, Spain, Qatar) by Marjan Khosravi.
• Badr on the Moon (Qatar, Jordan) by Aisha Al-Jaidah and Kholoud Al Ali.
• Last Words (Lebanon, Canada, Qatar) by Antoine Waked.
• Palmyra (Lebanon, France, Qatar) by Carol Mezher and Gabriela Flores.
• Rent-a-Mama (Lebanon, Canada, Qatar) by Dania Bdeir.
• The Dry Kingdom (Jordan, USA, Qatar) by Dana J. Atrach.
• Echoes (Lebanon, Qatar) by Marie-Rose Osta.
• El’Sardines (Algeria, France, Qatar) by Zoulikha Tahar.
• Before the Day Breaks (Qatar) by Amal Al-Muftah.
• If Only (Qatar) by Ali Al Anssari.
• Little Man (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Hajri Gachouch.
• Salted Skins (Lebanon, France, Canada, Qatar) by Nicolas Fattouh.
• The Heaviness of Absence (Syria, Germany, Qatar) by Jalal Maghout.
• Zizou (Egypt, Qatar) by Khaled Moeit.
• Eman (Qatar) by Maha Al-Thani.
• Please Pause (Qatar) by Lulwa Al-Thani.
• The Star (Lebanon, Qatar) by Ingrid El Zoghby.
• Another Day Shall Come (Palestine, Qatar) by Aida Kaadan.