Qatari filmmakers Ali al-Ansari, Yousef al-Moadhadi, Amal al-Muftah and Mohamed al-Mahmeed at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner.
Five emerging filmmakers from Qatar are currently in Cannes attending the 68th edition of the prestigious festival, where they are participating in a series of workshops and meetings arranged by Doha Film Institute (DFI) to support them in furthering their filmmaking careers.
Ali al-Ansari, Mohamed al-Mahmeed, Yousef al-Moadhadi, Amal al-Muftah and Maryam al-Sahli have so far participated in workshops, script development advisory sessions and one-on-one meetings, along with attending screenings of the latest discoveries in quality cinema from all over the world.
In discussing the development sessions attended by the group, al-Ansari said: “I feel I’ve gained a lot throughout the meetings that Doha Film Institute has arranged for us. We have met producers, distributors, people from all areas of the film industry. I’ve learned a lot of things about the film market, things like selling and distributing and also about producing.”
Al-Moadhadi, director of the short film 10% - which won the Made in Qatar award at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival in December 2014, said: “It’s a big business hub and has given me a good understanding of the scale of the business end of this industry, which generates millions of dollars. I have learned a lot about how to look at not just the creative parts of making a film, but also the other end of sales and distribution and how to find an audience for your work.”
Al-Mahmeed discussed the importance of sharing stories from Qatar with the world at international forums such as Cannes. He said: “Qatar is very undiscovered, there are so many stories and things that people don’t know about our culture. It is our job as Qataris and as filmmakers to show the world what we have to offer in terms of good, honest stories from Qatar.”
As part of Qatar’s presence in Cannes, DFI is presenting a special Made in Qatar showcase of short films at the Cannes Short Film Corner, a section of the festival dedicated to showcasing films from more than 90 countries to thousands of accredited industry guests, festival selectors and short film industry specialists.
In addition to the five filmmakers supported by the institute, two young filmmakers from Northwestern University in Qatar, Menna Kamel and Jaser Ibrahim Alagha, are also attending the festival where their films are screening in the Short Film Corner.
Five films supported by DFI’s grants programme are making their world premiere in prestigious sections of the festival, including the Official Short Film Competition, the Critics’ Week sidebar, Un Certain Regard and the Directors’ Fortnight.
