Doha backs 21 projects from 14 countries

Four projects from Qatar are included, and Turkish and Georgian filmmakers receive grants for the first time. 12 projects come from the MENA region.

The breakdown in backed projects is: 12 narrative feature films, 6 feature documentaries, 2 short films (one narrative and one documentary), and a web series.

The DFI received 360 applications for this eighth funding session.

Fatma Al Remaihi, Acting CEO of Doha Film Institute, said: “After the success our granted films Theeb and Sivas met in Venice, we are really excited about this next round of projects, which reflect some compelling new voices in cinema. Our jurors were impressed by the range of stories and the diversity of the backgrounds of the filmmakers who submitted work.

“We are also pleased to see so many strong narrative and documentary projects being submitted by women, whose projects really stood out in this round. These powerful projects are examples of the type of cinema our grants programme was set up to champion. We look forward to working with these filmmakers throughout the life cycle of these projects and beyond.”

The backed projects are:

FEATURE NARRATIVE - DEVELOPMENT

PARIJAT: NIGHT-FLOWERING JASMINE by Hend Fakhroo (Qatar)

In 1980, a fashionable young bride clashes with her husband over his traditional perfume business.

FEATURE NARRATIVE – PRODUCTION

DAYS OF TYRANNY by Katia Jarjoura (Lebanon)

During the 1985 Iran-Iraq war, a sister hides her deserter brother, a poet.

DEDE by Mariam Khatchvani (Georgia)

A woman falls in love in the Georgian mountainous countryside, but he defys both her family and her clan’s code of honour.

FRENZY by Emin Alper (Turkey)

Against Istanbul’s political violence, a man gets out of prison and wants to reunite with his younger brother.

HUNTING SEASON by Natalia Garagiola (Argentina)

A teenage boy from Buenos Aires is sent to live with his hunter father in the countryside after his mother dies.

MADMEN’S FORT by Narimane Mari (Algeria)

Set in 1860s in the Algerian Sahara, where men try to rise above turf wars and establish a society out of the ordinary.

REMEMBERING ADA by Jan Pacle (Qatar)

In The Philippines in 2050, an aspiring writer finds a book that connects him to a 2007 couple in a carefree romance.

THE GARBAGE HELICOPTER by Jonas Selberg Augustsén (Sweden)

A Roma woman calls on her grandchildren to return her old wall clock, setting them off on a strange journey across Sweden.

THE LAST LAND by Pablo Lamar (Paraguay)

An elderly couple living on an isolated hill prepare for her death.

TRUE LOVE STORY by Gitanjali Rao (India)

A film that demystifies what Bollywood films mean for young people in love on the streets in Bombay.

UNDER THE SHADOW by Babak Anvari (Iran)

In 1988 Tehran, a mother’s behaviour becoming increasingly disturbed, perhaps because of malevolent spirits (djinns) brought in by an unexploded missile.

FEATURE NARRATIVE – POST-PRODUCTION

SIVAS by Kaan Müjdeci (Turkey)

In a bleak Anatolian village, an 11 year old boy developes a strong relationship with a fighting dog.

SHORT NARRATIVE – PRODUCTION

WAVES ’98 by Elie Dagher (Lebanon)

A teenager living in the suburbs of Beirut discovers something strange and beautiful.

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY – DEVELOPMENT

DREAM AWAY by Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke (Egypt)

A look at the contrasts of Sharm El-Sheikh, which welcomes international tourists to glitzy hotels, while young Egyptians desperately seek work.

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY – PRODUCTION

THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING by Mila Turajlic (Serbia)

In an apartment in Belgrade there is a door that has been locked for 65 years, and the film seeks the key — a family memoir combined with the portrait of a changing country.

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY – POST-PRODUCTION  

FROM MY SYRIAN ROOM by Hazem Alhamwi (Syria)

Syrian painter and filmmaker Hazem Alhamwi tries to understand how Syrians have learned to live with distress and anxiety. Talking with his compatriots, Alhamwi tries to understand his people’s destiny.

ROSHMIA by Salim Abu Jabal (Palestine)

An elderly refugee couple are forced to look for a new home when a new road is built.

SPEED SISTERS [pictured] by Amber Fares (Palestine)

The story of the first all-woman racing car drving team in the Middle East.

WE HAVE NEVER BEEN KIDS by Mahmood Soliman (Egypt)

An Egyptian woman is trying to look after her four children before and after her divorce from their father.

SHORT DOCUMENTARY – PRODUCTION

CONCRETE DREAMS: SOME ROADS LEAD HOME by Saba Karim Khan (Qatar)

Pakistan’s battle over the rehabilitation of its street children.

WEB SERIES – POST-PRODUCTION

DR. HAMOOD SHOW by Innovation (Qatar)

Mohammed Al Dosari and Qatari wrestler Ali Al Naimi offer a comedy/reality web series tackling some of the social issues common to Qatari youth.