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Doha, Qatar; September 24, 2014: Katara-Doha Film Institute Cinema will host the free screening of the award-winning Danish documentary, The Kid and the Clown, as part of its Ajyal Youth Film Series on October 2 and 3, 2014 at Katara Drama Theatre Building 16. Directed by Ida Grøn, the documentary with English and Arabic subtitles highlights the focus of Katara-Doha Film Institute Cinema in bringing the best in world cinema for Doha audiences.

Sure to tug at the heartstrings, The Kid and the Clown (2011, 53 minutes) narrates the story of a six-year old boy Tobias who is battling cancer. A deeply personal and emotionally powerful documentary, it goes on to show that laugher is indeed the best medicine through the interactions of Tobias and Angus, who works as a clown in the children’s oncology department of the hospital.

The job of Angus is to make the children laugh. Although he is convinced that humour increases the chance of the treatment’s success, Angus also acknowledges that the young patients are absolutely alone in confronting with their life-threatening disease. He also battles the fear and despair that strikes the families of the children over the course of intensive treatment.

The Kid and the Clown is the debut documentary by Grøn, a graduate in Documentary Cinematography from the National Film and Television School in London and Art History from Copenhagen University. It has won several prizes including the Silver Horn Award at the Krakow International Film Festival and the Child and Family Award at the Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival in Doha.

The documentary will be screened for school students only on Thursday, October 2, at 9am, followed by the free screening for the public on a first-come, first-served basis on Thursday, October 2, at 7 PM and on Friday, October 3, at 4pm at Katara Doha Film Institute Cinema. Interested schools can contact Doha Film Institute for participating in the screening school@dohafilminstitute.com.

All screenings will be followed by a Q&A session with the film’s director, Ida Gron, along with a special guest from Lebanon’s Smile Foundation, ‘clown doctor’ Hadi Deabis.

Although the screenings are free, the public are requested to reserve tickets online at www.dohafilminstitute.com, and subsequently collect their tickets from the Institute’s Ticket Outlets.

Katara-Doha Film Institute Cinema brings monthly screenings of the finest films from around the world, and is part of the creative collaboration between Doha Film Institute and Katara Village to further strengthen appreciation of good films among the public.