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Watch the transadapted version of The Idol, Palestine’s entry for the Oscars, assuring seamless experience for all

Doha, Qatar; December 2, 2016: The celebration of cinema for the entire community continues at the fourth Ajyal Youth Film Festival presented by the Doha Film Institute today (Saturday, December 3) with the Big and Tiny Cine-Concert to mark the screenings of delightful short films for little ones as well as the opportunity to watch the trans-adapted version of The Idol. Ajyal will also bring a diverse selection of films including international film festival winners and entries for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Presented with Forum des Images, the Big and Tiny Cine-Concert is at 12 noon at the Katara Drama Theatre, and features five short films for tiny tots, accompanied live by musicians Anthony Boulc’h and Fanch Minous.

The ‘Big and Tiny’ selection includes 5m80 (France) by Nicolas Deveaux about a group of giraffes having fun diving and swimming at the pool; Girafa (Russia) by Anastasiya Sokolova, where a donkey sets his eyes on a giraffe and falls head over heels; Hedgehug (USA) by Dan Pinto that shows that love is not only patient and kind but also prickly for Hedgehug; Le Petit Hérisson partageur (France) by Marjorie Caup, about a little hedgehog that finds a magnificent apple in the woods; and The Tie (Belgium) by An Vrombaut about a young giraffe that meets an older one and despite the age difference become friends. There is also a delectable line-up of films that will delight children in the Bariq Shorts screening.

Palestine’s entry for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, The Idol (Palestine, Qatar, UK, The Netherlands) will be presented at 4 PM at Katara Drama Theatre, free for the public and for audiences of all abilities. This version is the result of the collaboration between the Doha Film Institute and the Translation and Interpreting Institute of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), whose students attending the MA programme in Audiovisual Translation have created the audio description and enriched subtitles. Directed by Academy Award-nominated Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, the film brings to the screen the inspiring life story of ‘Arab Idol’ champion Mohammed Assaf

Watch the winner of this year’s Palme d’Or, I, Daniel Blake (UK, France, Belgium), directed by Ken Loach, at 6.30 PM at Katara Opera House; and The Salesman (Iran, France), directed by Asghar Farhadi, and winner of the Best Screenplay and Best Actor at Cannes, at 9.30 PM at the same venue. The Salesman is Iran’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars this year. In the Midnight Screenings, audiences will be thrilled with Under the Shadow (Iran, UK, Jordan, Qatar), directed by Babak Anvari, screening at 11 PM at Katara Drama Theatre. It is the UK’s entry for the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film.

Ajyal audiences can catch up with the Bader Short Film Programme for free at 9.15 PM at Katara 12-Theatre B. The four short films in the category include: Oscar-nominated Ave Maria (Palestine, Germany, France) by Basil Khalil, about Arab nuns and Israeli settlers in the West Bank; Damaged Goods (Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Nermin Hamzagić; Mariam (France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia) by Faiza Ambah about the protagonist who finds her life becoming complicated when France passes a law banning Muslim women from wearing headscarves in public institutions; and The Silence (Italy, France) by Ali Asgari and Farnoosh Samadi about a young Kurdish refugee accompanying her mother on a visit to the hospital.

In other screenings, Secret Society of Souptown (Estonia, Finland) by Margus Paju, a classic adventure film, will screen at 12 noon at Katara 12 – Theatre A, while The World of Us (South Korea) by Yoon Ga-eun, about an easygoing friendship between two 10-year-olds, will screen at 3 PM at Katara Opera House. Kai (South Korea) by Lee Sung-gang, about a brave young warrior separated from his younger sister, will screen at 8PM at Katara Drama Theatre, and Sonita (Iran, Germany, Switzerland) by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, about an 18-year-old Afghan refugee in Tehran dreaming of being a world-famous rapper, is at 8.30 PM at Katara 12 – Theatre A.

Tickets are priced QR25 for general screening, and are available for purchase 24 hours a day at ajyalfilm.com or from the Ajyal Katara Main Box Office in Katara Building 12 or Ajyal FNAC Ticket Outlet, FNAC Qatar (at Lagoona Mall).

Katara is the Cultural Partner and Oxy Qatar is the Principal Partner for the 2016 edition. Qatar Tourism Authority is the Signature Partner of the festival this year.