This comes as Arab cinema representation in international film festivals is on the rise.

Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani took to Instagram on Monday to congratulate the three Doha Film Institute-funded films that were awarded at the this year’s Venice International Film Festival.

Sheikha founded the nonprofit Doha Film Institute in 2010 with the goal of fostering the development of the Qatari film industry and giving producers access to finance and global networking possibilities.

The film festival is organised by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera. This year, it took place at Venice Lido from 31 August to 10 September. It is officially recognised by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Association).

Nezouh by Soudad Kaadan

Nezouh was awarded the ‘Extra Horizons – Armani Spectators Award’.

Made by Soudade Kaadan, the film tells the story of Zeina, a Syrian girl who’s home ceiling is destroyed by a missile in Damascus during the war. That’s when she slept for the first time at the age of twelve, after having been  prohibited from even opening a window.

She meets the boy next door, Amer, and experiences the outside world for the first time. As Zeina witnesses her father, Mutaz cry due to the damage to his home and way of life, she starts to feel bad about her fleeting happiness. 

Amer’s family decides to flee when the level of violence in Damascus escalates. Zeina’s father, however, is adamant about not leaving his family behind and does everything in his power to keep them in their house.

But the family’s women decide they have nothing left to lose and join the others who are escaping. 

Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous by Wissam Charaf

The film tells the story of Ahmed, a Syrian refugee with hundreds of bullet wounds on his body, who was wandering the streets of Beirut looking for metal items to be recycled, when he believed he would fall in love with Mehdia, an Ethiopian housekeeper.

However, such a tale seems almost impossible in their city.

Mehdia was struggling. Her employer, Old Ibrahim, whom she looked after, was going crazy, and his wife Leila was unable to continue. Mehdia made the decision to flee with Ahmed, and so an adventure that lead them to the Eastern border where Ahmed’s family has sought safety began. 

Autobiography by Makbul Mubarak

Autobiography looks at how Indonesia’s military dictatorship affected the country’s youth, and follows a young man who is split between justice and devotion and must face the truth about his father figure, a retired general, which could endanger both of them.

The movie was co-produced by Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland, the Philippines, Germany, and Qatar across seven nations.