Qatar’s Doha Film Institute (DFI) has selected 47 projects for its autumn 2024 funding round, including 11 from Qatari and Qatar-based creatives.
The grantees include Palestinian director Razan Madhoon’s Gaza-set drama The Good Spirit; Moroccan-French filmmaker Sofia Alaoui’s thriller Tarfaya; and The Joyful 1926 by Algerian team Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad.
DOHA FILM INSTITUTE AUTUMN 2024:
MENA – Feature Narrative – Development
Amara (Denmark, France, Lebanon, Qatar)
By Michelle Keserwany, is about Darine, a vibrant woman in her mid-thirties who works at a small, politicised radio station in Beirut, where she hosts the morning show.
Camera Obscura (Egypt, Germany, Qatar)
By Viola Shafik, which is set towards the end of the 1883 cholera epidemic and the onset of the British protectorate in Egypt.
Rock, Paper, Sea (Egypt, Qatar)
By Randa Ali, a coming-of-age story set by the Egyptian Mediterranean in the summer of 2001.
The Good Spirit (Palestine, UK, Qatar)
By Razan Madhoon, follows Noor, a 22-year-old strong-willed resident of Gaza who discovers an injured stray dog.
MENA – Feature Narrative – Production
In Memory Of Times To Come (Palestine, Denmark, Malta, UK, Qatar)
By Larissa Sansour, which is set 30 years after an eco-apocalypse, when Alia and her husband Elias lead a peaceful life in a restored townhouse in Bethlehem.
Love-45 (Syria, France, Switzerland, Qatar)
By Anas Khalaf, the story of Walid, an unhappy Lebanese tennis club handyman who finds an unexpected purpose when tasked with building a court at a Syrian refugee camp.
Minkaff (Qatar)
By S.M. Al Thani, in which a young Qatari man investigates his friend’s kidnapping during a falcon hunting trip, uncovering connections to a shared childhood incident from two decades ago.
Plague (Tunisia, France, Qatar)
By Youssef Chebbi, set in Tozeur — a farming town on the edge of the Tunisian desert, where two twin brothers jointly manage a palm grove.
Selfless (Qatar, Algeria, France)
By Meriem Mesraoua, about a 55-year-old woman, whose life changes when an administrative error invalidates her marriage, forcing her to confront deeper threats to her family’s security.
Tarfaya (Morocco, France, Belgium, Qatar)
By Sofia Alaoui, about a mysterious sleeping epidemic in a remote Moroccan town that tests a dedicated doctor’s resolve as she fights to save her community and the man she loves.
The Joyful 1926 (Algeria, France, Qatar)
By Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad, set in colonial Algiers, when a Muslim actress defies societal norms to pursue her theatrical dreams.
The Pearl (Qatar)
By Noor Al-Nasr, tells the story of Khalid, a modern-day, tech-obsessed Qatari teenager, who travels back in time to an era before his beloved technology existed.
MENA – Feature Narrative – Post-Production
Exile (Tunisia, Luxembourg, France, Qatar)
By Mehdi Hmili, set in an industrial world scarred by tragedy, as a steel factory worker undergoes a haunting transformation after an accident.
Songs Of Adam (Iraq, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, USA, Qatar)
By Oday Rasheed, is a mystical tale set in 1946 about a boy who stops aging after witnessing a ritual, exploring themes of innocence, time, and family bonds.
Spring Came On Laughing (Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
By Noha Adel, in which four interconnected stories unfold during spring, revealing unexpected darkness beneath the season’s renewal.
MENA – Feature Documentary – Development
And Still I Rise (Morocco, France, Qatar)
By Djanis Bouzyani, about Aravane Rézaï, who hates tennis, but was once ranked the world’s 14th player, and plans a comeback after 13 years.
Life After Siham (Egypt, France, Qatar)
By Namir Abdel Messeeh, about Namir, a 40-year-old filmmaker, and his journey through grief.
The Sixth Story (Iraq, UK, Qatar)
By Ahmed Abd, in which the protagonist feels an undeniable urge to revisit a memory he has tried to suppress for 17 long years.
MENA – Feature Documentary – Post-Production
Mother Of Silence (Iraq, France, Qatar)
By Zahraa Ghandour, documents how the director, born and raised in a midwife’s house in Baghdad, witnessed violence against women from an early age.
My Armenian Phantoms (Lebanon, France, Armenia, Qatar)
By Tamara Stepanyan, a deeply personal exploration following the loss of the director’s father, Vigen Stepanyan.
Souraya Mon Amour (Lebanon, Qatar)
By Nicolas Khoury, which immerses viewers in the hidden world of Souraya Baghdadi, a realm of dance, cinema, meditation, and questioning.
Women Of Sin (Morocco, France, Qatar)
By Noufissa Chara, which follows Karima Nadir and her collective, Kir Mama and Kif Baba, as they fight for gender equality in Morocco.
MENA – Feature Experimental/Essay – Development
B.A.H.R Alphabet (Lebanon, Qatar)
By Sabine El Chamaa, a film about time, plastic floating underwater, tiny sparkling jellyfish, legends, and interrupted rituals.
MENA – Feature Experimental/Essay – Production
A Lover’s Manifesto (Lebanon, Qatar)
By Alfred Tarasi, documents the history of Beirut, spanning from its inception as a modern city in 1860 to its invasion by the Israeli army in 1982.
NON-MENA – Feature Narrative – Post-Production
Sleepless City (Spain, France, Qatar)
By Guillermo Garcia Lopez, set in La Cañada Real, on the outskirts of Madrid, one of the largest illegal shanty towns in Europe.
The Reserve (Mexico, Qatar)
By Pablo Pérez Lombardini, about Julia, a ranger in charge of protecting a natural reserve, living with her mother and daughter in a small village.
NON-MENA – Feature Documentary – Post-Production
Fatna, A Woman Named Rachid (France, Morocco, Belgium, Qatar)
By Hélène Harder, documents the National Archives of Morocco, where thousands of files await inventory, including victims of political violence.
Once Upon A Time In Shiraz (Iran, France, Norway, South Korea, Qatar)
By Hamed Zolfaghari, which follows Valioallah and Dorna, nearing the end of their nomadic lifestyle.
The Last Shore (Belgium, France, Qatar)
By Jean-François Ravagnan, documents the events following the viral video of a young Gambian man’s drowning in Venice’s Grand Canal by exploring the human story behind the tragedy through the voices of those who knew 22-year-old Pateh Sabally.
NON-MENA – Feature Experimental/Essay – Post-Production
Ancestral Visions Of The Future (Lesotho, France, Germany, Qatar)
By Lemohang Jeremiah Moses, is a deeply personal exploration of identity, childhood, death, and exile through the eyes of a puppeteer, a mother, a boy, a farmer, and a city.