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• Projects supported by DFI to date now over 310 from 51 countries; 264 projects from the Arab world
• Three Projects by Qatari filmmakers also chosen for Fall Grants 2016 that supports first- and second-time filmmakers from around the world

Doha, Qatar; December 21, 2016: Doha Film Institute today announced its Fall Grants 2016 to support first- and second-time filmmakers from around the world. Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Executive Officer of Doha Film Institute, said that an unprecedented number of 32 films – 15 of them directed by women – from 27 countries have been chosen for the financing initiative covering shorts, documentaries, experimental and essay films and features. This takes the total number of films supported by DFI to date to over 310, from 51 countries, of which 264 are projects from the Arab world.

In addition to films by Qatari directors, the Fall Grants programme covers projects from development to post-production, from Algeria, Argentina, Burkina Faso, Canada, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, the UK and the USA.

The Grants programme aims to seek out original voices in film by emerging talents, encourage creative interaction among the filmmakers, and develop a community of filmmakers around the Doha Film Institute alumni. Selected projects are also offered creative development support by the Institute’s professionals throughout the life-cycle of the films. It also supports established names from the MENA region who have set new benchmarks and are recognized for their creative vision and compelling content.

Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Executive Officer of Doha Film Institute, said: “Identifying and supporting emerging talents from across the world is one of our central commitments in nurturing the next generation of filmmakers. While providing the platform for new cinematic voices, we are also looking to build a culture of universal story-telling with films that resonate across all cultures. We want to empower talented young people by helping them tide over the challenges they face in fulfilling their creative aspirations, and encourage the creation of compelling content. The diversity of submissions for this year’s Grants has been exceptional, and we chose the 32 projects for their power to touch a chord among film audiences, anywhere in the world.”

Feature Narratives to receive the DFI Fall Grants 2016 include:

• A Kasha (Sudan, South Africa, Qatar) by Hajooj Kuka, an offbeat Sudanese love story set in a time of civil war
• Beauty and the Dogs (Tunisia, France, Sweden, Lebanon, Qatar) by Kaouther Ben Hania, about a Tunisian student’s determination to report a personal trauma to the police
• Cocote (Dominican Republic, Argentina, Germany, Qatar) by Nelson De Los Santos Arias about Alberto, whose family expects him to avenge the death of his father
• Daoud’s Winter (Iraq, Netherlands, France, Lebanon, Qatar) by Koutaiba Al-Janabi about Daoud who deserts his army base to return the body of his deceased friend to his family
• iPhone Memory (Qatar) by Mahdi Ali Ali, in which three stories intersect in France – those of a Frenchman who battles cancer; a Romani girl who seeks someone to adopt her little sister and a Syrian immigrant boy trying to survive by acting in films
• Memory Hotel (Germany, France, Qatar) by Heinrich Sabl, which serves as an emotional journey through European history
• Multicoloured Bahtan (Egypt, Qatar) by Nermeen Salem in which emotion-less Bahtan meets hyper-active Felfella and together save the world from losing its emotions
• Musk (UAE, Qatar) by Humaid Alsuwaidi about Ahmed who tries to overcome his inherent cynicism, while stuck between his dying father and brooding son
• Solo (Tunisia, France, Canada, Qatar) by Mehdi Hmili about Amel, who is released from prison, and seeks her missing son in the lower depths of Tunis
• Stateless (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Narjiss Nejjar about Henia who will give anything to find her mother, which includes agreeing to marry an old blind man
• The Maiden’s Pond (Lebanon, Qatar) by Bassem Breche in which two women try to maintain and negotiate their lives with and against each other
• The Poster (Palestine, France, Germany, Qatar) by Suha Arraf, which is set in a Palestinian village in Israel, where a poster stirs chaos in the village.
• The Silence of the Wind (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, France, Qatar) by Alvaro Aponte-Centeno, about Rafito, who cannot mourn his sister’s death because of his continued involvement in human trafficking
• Volubilis (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Faouzi Bensaïdi, in which a humiliating and violent incident turns the destiny of a couple upside down
• Wallay! (Burkina Faso, France, Qatar) by Berni Goldblat about Ady, a French-Burkinabe adolescent, who sent by his father to the family village in Burkina Faso
• Zanka Contact (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Ismaël El Iraki in which the romantic odyssey of a has-been rock star and a singer will turn nocturnal Morocco upside down

Feature Documentary and Experimental projects include:

• From a Palm Tree to the Stars (Iraq, France, Germany, Qatar), a feature experimental by Leila Albayaty, in which a French-Iraqi artist tries to find her lost Arabic origins
• Ouroboros (Palestine, France, Qatar), a feature experimental by Basma Alsharif, death as birth, history as the present and the end as the beginning
• Al Sahra (Syria, Lebanon, Qatar) by Ghiath Al Haddad and Saeed Al Batal, about two artists who are entwined in the affairs of the people of the besieged city of Gouta
• House in the Fields (Morocco, Qatar) by Tala Hadid, about two sisters who experience the last seasons of childhood in a village in the High Atlas Mountains
• Moment of Escape (Algeria, France, Qatar) by Abdallah Badis, a journey sketching real life in Algeria through an encounter between urban youth and people in the countryside
• My Friend Gadhgadhi (Tunisia, Qatar) by Rafik Omrani, a reflection on terrorism against the backdrop of the director realizing that infamous militant Kamel Gadhgadhi was his close friend at college
• Ouaga Girls (Burkina Faso, Sweden, Qatar) by Theresa Trarore Dahlberg about a group of young girls from Burkina Faso who study to become car mechanics
• Plot 35 (France, Qatar) by Eric Caravaca which takes viewers into the heart of a fascinating human quest
• Republic of Silence (Syria, Germany, France, Qatar) by Diana El Jeiroudi in which the protagonist reclaims the images and sounds of Syrians, scattered around the world
• Trophy (USA, UK, Qatar) by Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau – an in-depth look at the big-game hunting industry

Shorts include:

• Clouds (Oman, Qatar) by Muzna Almusafer about a leopard hunter in a traditional village, who goes through a transformation
• Disruption (Lebanon, Germany, Spain, Qatar) by Feyrouz Serhal, in which the highly anticipated telecast of the World Cup is interrupted by strange audio waves
• I Have Been Watching You All Along (Qatar), a short experimental by Rawda Al-Thani about a girl who explores forgotten memories of an abandoned cinema through a trance-like journey into its past
• Post-production grant for Kashta (Qatar) by A.J. Al Thani, which won the ‘Best Narrative’ at the Made in Qatar Awards at the fourth Ajyal Youth Film Festival, about a father who takes his two sons out to a trip to the desert with unexpected results; the film earlier received a production grant from DFI
• The Dog’s Children (Saudi Arabia, Qatar) by Layan Abdul Shakoor about an abusive Saudi father who assigns a gruesome task to his little son
• The Key (Jordan, Germany, Qatar) by Ghassan Jaradat, about a child refugee who is obsessed with collecting keys and finds a hidden door in his father’s key shop

There are two submission cycles for the Grants annually. The next cycle opens 9 January, 2017 and closes at midnight (GMT+3) on 23 January, 2017. For details, please log on to: www.dohafilminstitute.com

In addition to the Grants programme, Doha Film Institute also has co-financing schemes as well as the Qatari Film Fund dedicated to supporting short and feature filmmaking by Qatari directors.