Doha's Made in Qatar Showcase includes 15 world premieres

There are 15 world premieres included including three features. Those are:

Lyrics Revolt [pictured], by Shannon Farhoud, Ashlene Ramadan, Melanie Fridgant and Rana Khaled Al Khatib, a documentary that started as a student project at Northwestern University in Qatar, exploring the Arab Spring through Middle Eastern hip-hop artists;

Lockdown, a zombie thriller directed by Mohammed Al-Ibrahim and Ahmed Al Baker; and

Angel in June by Jan Xavier Pacle, about a charitable girl in Doha’s Filipino community.

An independent jury will decide the winner of the $10,000 Made in Qatar development award.

There are four programmes: New Hopes, Through Their Eyes, Angel In June and Thriller Night.

His Excellency Mr. Issa Bin Mohammed Al-Mohannadi, DTFF Vice Chair, said: “One of the founding mandates of Doha Film Institute and DTFF is to promote a culture of filmmaking in Qatar. Made in Qatar, the largest so far, demonstrates the success of the concerted efforts in creating a robust filmmaking industry locally by identifying and nurturing talent. The films in the selection will surprise viewers with their thematic intensity and narrative style. Most importantly, it offers glimpses of life in Qatar and will
resonate with the local community.”

Chadi Zeneddine, resident filmmaker and programmer at DFI, added, “The diversity in content and narrative styles demonstrates the strong evolution of local filmmaking over the past few years. Talented youngsters as well as experienced professionals are screening their films in the Made in Qatar programme. The common thread in all these movies is the creativity of the filmmakers to push beyond the obvious and create heart felt moments from ordinary situations.”