Doha: The hybrid edition of the 8th Ajyal Film Festival, presented by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) from November 18 to 23, will show an inspiring selection of 13 thought-provoking feature films from across the globe online to offer participants a safe event experience.
The hybrid event format expands the spirit of Ajyal into an inclusive virtual space for immersive creative expression and community.
Delivering inspirational stories of hope, resilience and courage using powerfully creative narratives, the selected films will be assessed across three separate juries – Mohaq, Hilal, and Bader. Each jury is presented with carefully curated features and short films to analyse and deliberate in their respective categories, awarding Best Film prizes accordingly.
DFI supports three feature films screening in competition, underlining the Institute’s commitment to unlock creative voices and support quality film productions and reinforcing Qatar’s continued focus on promoting distinctive and compelling narratives of universal resonance.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Festival Director and Chief Executive Officer of DFI, said: “Our carefully curated programme of international feature films inspires our youth to reflect, build important connections, and find a deeper understanding of the shared human experience. With their powerful narratives and diverse storytelling techniques, each of the films instils lasting messages of hope and resilience across generations and ultimately inspires a sense of unity among our young jurors joining us virtually from across the globe. Despite the challenges of this year, Ajyal continues to provide a nurturing space where youth are empowered to reach beyond physical differences to find their innate creative voice.”
In competition in the Mohaq segment for jurors aged 8 to 12 are Dino Dana (Canada/2019) by J.J. Johnson, Microplastic Madness (USA/2019) by Atsuko Quirk and Debby Lee Cohen, Turu, The Wacky Hen (Spain, Argentina/2019) by Eduardo Gondell and Víctor Monigote, and Bikes (Spain/2019) by Manuel J. García.
Ajyal Jurors aged 13 to 17 in the Hilal category will watch and evaluate My Favorite War (Latvia, Norway/2020) by Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen, Sun Children (Iran/2020) by Majid Majidi, The Reason I Jump (UK, USA/2020) by Jerry Rothwell, and The Wolves (Mexico/2019) by Samuel Kishi.
Ajyal’s Bader Jurors, aged 18 to 25, will choose a winner from 200 Meters (Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Italy, Sweden/2020) by Ameen Nayfeh, An Unusual Summer (Germany, Palestine/2020) by Kamal Aljafari, Father (Serbia, France, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia/2020) by Srdan Golubović, Gevar’s Land (France, Qatar/2020) by Qutaiba Barhamji, and Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness (France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Lebanon, Iran/2019) by Massoud Bakhshi.
Tickets can be purchased via: www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival.
SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR