DFI to screen, A New Day in Old Sana’a, which won the Best Arab Film prize at the Cairo International Film FestivalAfter capping last year’s programme with a successful second edition of the Ajyal Youth Film Festival, the Doha Film Institute kicks off the New Year’s screenings with a moving romantic tale from Yemen at the end of this month.Award-winning British-Yemeni director, writer and playwright Bader Ben Hirsi’s A New Day in Old Sana’a will be screened at the Museum of Islamic Art auditorium on January 29 and 30 at 7pm, as part of the Hekayat Khaleejiya series, which is dedicated to showcasing cinematic voices from the Gulf region.Shot entirely on location in the ancient city and Yemen’s capital Sana’a, this first feature film ever to come out of Yemen, also was the first Yemeni film to be shown at Cannes Film Festival. In this 86-minute film released in 2005, a handsome young Tariq is set to marry Bilquis, the eldest daughter of a prominent and powerful judge. One late night, as he wanders through the moonlit streets of Sana’a, he spots a beautiful young woman dancing in the street and falls madly in love with her. Tariq must now choose between following his heart and protecting his family’s honour. The romantic comedy “follows the deeply conflicted Tariq as he struggles to make a decision that could affect the future of his entire family.” This enchanting story of a new generation in an old city won the Best Arab Film prize at the Cairo International Film Festival. Egypt’s Ministry of Culture, then, presented him with an award of 100,000 Egyptian pounds for “his role in promoting Arabic films.”“The ancient city of cobbled streets and soaring stone towers provides a striking backdrop to this highly concocted tale,” the Variety magazine had said in its review, “which is made even more exotic by being seen through the eyes of a Western photographer, Federico (Paolo Romano). This Italian who speaks perfect British English is drawn into the problems of his local assistant Tariq (Nabil Saber), who is set to wed the most beautiful girl in Sana’a, Bilquis (Redha Khoder).”“Though Tariq has never laid eyes on his bride-to-be, he believes he sees her dancing through the streets one night in a billowy white dress he has given her as a present. In reality, the dancer is Ines (Dania Hammoud), a poor orphan with a crush on Tariq.”Director Hirsi began his career as a theatre playwright and director with numerous successes at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After reading for an MA in Drama Production from Goldsmithʼs College, London University, Hirsi turned his attention to projects promoting a different image of the Arab World with his first award-winning feature documentary The English Sheikh & The Yemeni Gentleman (which chronicles his journey to Yemen after a lifetime spent in exile) generating great international appeal. His other award-winning documentaries include Yemen & The War on Terror and Hajj: The Greatest Pilgrimage on Earth for Channel 4 in the UK. In A New Day in Sana’a, Hirsi himself plays a cameo as a djinni at the end of the film.