Speaking to Doha News, Sheikha Roda Al Thani, the series’ producer, emphasised her goal of reigniting local nostalgia for folkloric tales while also introducing these stories to new audiences.
The four-part Hazawy animated series made the shortlist for the inaugural Collision Awards.
Hazawy, which means ‘stories’ in Arabic, brings Qatar’s folkloric tales to life through the power of animation.
Each of the animated shorts is in the Qatari Arabic dialect, introducing audiences to Qatar’s coastal and desert heritages as well as its stars and other fables.
Extensive research also explored the variations surrounding the region’s famed tales. The final product of the series weaves together common threads from these variations to resonate with as many local audiences as possible.
Sheikha Roda, a Qatari visual artist and storyteller, produced the series for Qatar Museums in partnership with the Film House.
She also showed her flare for scriptwriting, lending her pen to the final episode of the season titled ‘What Lurks Beneath’.
“It’s an honour and privilege,” the Qatari storyteller told Doha News about receiving recognition at Collision which is the first incubator awarding animation and motion design excellence.
Hazawy is shortlisted in the ‘Marketing & Communications – Campaign’ category and is up against entries from Warner Bros Discovery and Bloomberg Media, among others.
“To have a series I produced named alongside industry giants is surreal,” she added.
Entrenching folkloric culture
Beyond entertainment, Sheikha Roda also shared with Doha News how Hazawy aligns with a common saying in the region: ‘Without a past, you cannot have a future’.
“The Gulf region has a treasure trove of untold stories. Hazawy portrays stories from the past in a modern and experimental manner,” she said.
For instance, the ‘Mai and Ghaylan’ episode, situated in Qatar’s northeastern municipality of Al Khor, unpacks the story of how the invention of the sail came to be.
Before the advent of technology, sharing such tales brought Qatari families together, with elders disseminating knowledge through fables.
The Hazawy series, penned by Qatari writers, represents modern solutions initiated by Qatar’s youth to restore these traditions, demonstrating an undeniable affinity with the past.
“One of the objectives of Hazawy is to record these stories,” said Sheikha Roda.
“Our stories have always been oral, so visualising them immortalises them further,” she added.
Also, at the heart of the ‘Mai and Ghaylan’ episode lies a female protagonist. Mai, with her mastery of navigating Qatar’s coastal waters, outshines Ghaylan who is renowned as the top sea captain in Al Khor.
At its core, ‘Mai and Ghaylan’ challenges stereotypes by showcasing a female protagonist excelling in society, debunking misconceptions about local attitudes to women.
“Beyond local nostalgia, I hope Hazawy offers a new perspective on the Middle East, which is too often misconstrued in the media,” Sheikha Roda concluded.
The winners of the inaugural Collision Awards will be announced later this month.
