A new cinematic voice is rising in Doha

The first edition of the Doha Film Festival sent a clear message about Qatar’s ambitions to foster a strong film culture, with Made in Qatar placing a new generation of local filmmakers at the center of the event.

Coming from 15 years of development efforts by the Doha Film Institute, these filmmakers are now at the forefront of a mature ecosystem built through grants, workshops and training platforms like ‘Qumra’ and ‘Ajyal’, as well as previous exhibitions that shaped the current pipeline.

Festival director and institute head Fatma Hassan Alremaihi said engaging local voices was both a responsibility and a privilege, adding that the filmmakers featured in the section open doors to Qatari culture and strengthen the nation’s cinematic identity.

He said the program honored the courage of filmmakers whose work forms a creative legacy that stretches far beyond regional borders. Filmmakers featured in this year’s selection echoed that sentiment, calling it a defining moment for Qatar’s filmmaking community.

Filmmaker Fatma Al-Ghanim, presenting her documentary “Theatre of Dreams” about Qatar’s first Women’s National Football Team, said the current moment holds promise for emerging talents, noting the complete development pipeline created by the institute. He said the enhanced support system allowed filmmakers to pursue personal stories with increasing confidence.

Animator Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, co-director of “Al-Aqiq: Darkness of Virtuality,” described the transformation of the industry during a decade of working with the institute. He said he had seen a maturing environment, a more interconnected community and the beginnings of a sustainable creative landscape that offered younger filmmakers genuine reason for optimism.

For director Fahad Al-Nahdi, whose film “Project Aisha” is shown in the competition, the long-term relationship with the institute was fundamental. He said a decade of working at festivals and community events has revealed steady improvements in resources and funding, enabling stronger impact.

Documentary filmmaker Eiman Mirghani, introducing ‘Villa 187’, said DFI’s workshops and year-round workshop programs continued to nurture Qatari filmmakers and residents, shaping a generation that had grown alongside the rise of the institute.

The 10 films in the Made in Qatar series form an intimate snapshot of the ideas, concerns and creative languages ​​that define Qatar’s evolving screen identity. They also reflect the institute’s belief that cultivating early voices is essential to building a culture where bold stories can take root and thrive over time.

As well as celebrating local filmmaking, the festival also hosted a topical discussion on the perspectives of women in film, bringing together a panel of acclaimed filmmakers whose work explores identity, memory and resistance.

The session, entitled Reframing Cinema: Diversity in the Female Gaze, featured Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, Libyan-Syrian director Jihan K, British-Palestinian director Farah Nabulsi and Sudanese director Rawia AlHag, each offering a personal account of stories of navigating stereotypes.

Jacir, whose film “Palestine 36” was shown at the festival, said she did not start her work by responding to stereotypes but by telling stories that felt true to her. She said her film focused on two women from different walks of life, including a journalist writing under a male name for security and recognition during colonialism, and a village woman shaped by generational resistance.

He said he wanted to capture their reality rather than construct narratives around expectation or external perception. She added that the situation for Palestinian women had worsened in recent years, recalling that women were once highly visible during the Second Intifada, but were now increasingly pushed out of public life. While she acknowledged that stereotypes remain a barrier for many filmmakers, she said authenticity remains the foundation of her work.

Farah Nabulsi, whose 2020 short “The Present” earned an Oscar nomination, said her films “The Present” and “The Teacher” featured male leads, raising questions about her choice.

She said that her own experiences as a mother and daughter shaped her narrative, adding that the maternal presence often appeared in her films, regardless of who played the lead role. She said women brought an intangible substance to their stories, offering counterpoints to male-dominated narratives while refusing to be constrained by expectations.

Sudanese filmmaker Rawia AlHag, whose film “Khartoum” reflects on a beloved city transformed by conflict, said her responsibility as a director had increased as the war in Sudan intensified. He said the film aimed to remind audiences of the humanity behind the political turmoil, carrying the voices of Sudanese women, men and children at a time when visibility is urgent and deeply needed.

Afghan journalist-turned-filmmaker Najiba Noori described a different kind of rupture. Forced to flee Kabul after the Taliban took over in 2021, she continued to work on her documentary ‘Writing Hawa’, focusing on her mother’s life through decades of social and political change.

He said the political turmoil added a new layer to the film, although much of it remained rooted in the period before the Taliban returned to power. She said the film honored her mother, a survivor of child marriage who later embraced education, entrepreneurship and self-expression despite the constraints surrounding her.

Together, the stories shared throughout the festival suggest a creative landscape marked by ambition, honesty and a willingness to confront the complexities of identity. For Qatar, the inaugural edition of the festival not only marks a platform for local filmmakers, but a wider invitation for regional and global audiences to engage with a culture asserting its voice through cinema.