A short narrative film on self-acceptance and friendship, and a documentary about the aftermath of the Yemeni war, both directed by NU-Q alumni, received awards during the 2019 Ajyal Youth Film Festival.
In total, 23 films by NU-Q students and alumni were featured under the festival’s short films programme, with the majority of them debuting during the Made in Qatar segment.
“From Ajyal to Cannes, NU-Q students and alumni reconvene every year to offer the world unique visual commentaries on pressing social affairs and to test the limits of creative storytelling techniques,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO of NU-Q.
“We are proud of all the work they do and that more than half of the Made in Qatar films this year were by the NU-Q community.”
The Best Documentary Award went to Mariam al-Dhubhani for her film In the Middle, which examines the consequences of war by following a Yemeni soldier on tour.
Al-Dhubhani (‘18) is a Yemeni-Russian journalist and filmmaker. Her first short film We are the Peace had received an award in Yemen’s inaugural film festival in 2011.
Last year, her film Just Another Memory, which was her directorial debut, also won the Best Documentary Award at the 2018 Ajyal festival.
Beit Byoot, a film directed by Mayar Hamdan (‘15), which is set in a dystopian dollhouse, received the Special Jury Award. The film discusses the themes of friendship and fitting in. Hamdan is currently getting an MFA at CalArts, focusing on art, film and new technologies.
The film festival also featured the screening of films that are designed to accommodate people with special needs.
Rawan al-Nassiri (‘18), who co-produced Treasures of the Past with Nada Bedair (‘18), said, “Our film featured Arabic audio description, sign-language interpreting and enriched subtitles in both Arabic and English to be inclusive of all viewers.
“This is not only a representation of the growth of cinema in the country but also represents something bigger, the power of a collective — something film cannot come to fruition without.”
More than 20 NU-Q students and alumni members participated in the festival with short narratives or documentary projects, and in various capacities, such as producer, co-producer and director. Current students included Tony El Ghazal, Maha Essid, Awad Abdelrahman, Wijdan al-Khateeb, Sahar al-Kabash and M Razi Islam; while alumni were Jassim al-Romaihi, Ayah Awartani, Sana al-Ansari, Mayar Hamdan, Yassine Ouaharani, Lubna Mohsin, Mariam al-Dhubhani, A J al-Thani, Dhabya al-Muhannadi, Aisha al-Muhannadi, Nada Bedair, Alessandra El Chanti, Amal al-Muftah, Rawan al-Nassiri, Maysam al-Ani, Farida Zahran, Jemina Legaspi, Vibhav Gautam and Fouad Hassan.
Rana Kazkaz, an NU-Q professor and award-winning filmmaker, noted the success of her students.
“What’s remarkable is that not only are NU-Q students making their mark on the local film industry, as evidenced by the large number of films by our current students and alumni selected for this year’s Ajyal Film Festival, but are also screening their films in some of the most prominent festivals around the world,” she said.
Mariam al-Dhubhani, director of In the Middle, receives her award for Best Documentary at Ajyal’s closing ceremony.
