Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced its Fall Grants 2016 to support first- and second-time filmmakers from around the world.
Fatma al-Remaihi, chief executive officer of DFI, said an “unprecedented” 32 films - 15 of them directed by women - from 27 countries have been chosen for the financing initiative. These include shorts, documentaries, experimental and essay films and features.
This takes the total number of films supported by DFI to date to over 310, from 51 countries, of which 264 are projects from the Arab world.
In addition to films by Qatari directors, the Fall Grants programme covers projects from development to post-production, from Algeria, Argentina, Burkina Faso, Canada, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, the UK and the US, DFI has said in a press statement.
The Grants programme aims to seek out original voices in film by emerging talents, encourage creative interaction among the filmmakers and develop a community of filmmakers around the DFI alumni. Selected projects are also offered creative development support by the institute’s professionals throughout the life-cycle of the films. It also supports established names from the Mena region who have set new benchmarks and are recognised for their creative vision and compelling content.
Feature Narratives to receive the DFI Fall Grants 2016 are A Kasha (Sudan, South Africa, Qatar) by Hajooj Kuka, Beauty and the Dogs (Tunisia, France, Sweden, Lebanon, Qatar) by Kaouther Ben Hania, Cocote (Dominican Republic, Argentina, Germany, Qatar) by Nelson De Los Santos Arias, Daoud’s Winter (Iraq, Netherlands, France, Lebanon, Qatar) by Koutaiba al-Janabi, iPhone Memory (Qatar) by Mahdi Ali Ali, Memory Hotel (Germany, France, Qatar) by Heinrich Sabl, Multicoloured Bahtan (Egypt, Qatar) by Nermeen Salem, Musk (the UAE, Qatar) by Humaid Alsuwaidi, Solo (Tunisia, France, Canada, Qatar) by Mehdi Hmili, Stateless (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Narjiss Nejjar, The Maiden’s Pond (Lebanon, Qatar) by Bassem Breche, The Poster (Palestine, France, Germany, Qatar) by Suha Arraf, The Silence of the Wind (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, France, Qatar) by Alvaro Aponte-Centeno, Volubilis (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Faouzi Bensaïdi, Wallay! (Burkina Faso, France, Qatar) by Berni Goldblat and Zanka Contact (Morocco, France, Qatar) by Ismaël El Iraki.
Feature Documentary and Experimental projects are From a Palm Tree to the Stars (Iraq, France, Germany, Qatar), a feature experimental by Leila Albayaty, Ouroboros (Palestine, France, Qatar), a feature experimental by Basma Alsharif, Al Sahra (Syria, Lebanon, Qatar) by Ghiath al-Haddad and Saeed al-Batal, House in the Fields (Morocco, Qatar) by Tala Hadid, Moment of Escape (Algeria, France, Qatar) by Abdallah Badis, My Friend Gadhgadhi (Tunisia, Qatar) by Rafik Omrani, Ouaga Girls (Burkina Faso, Sweden, Qatar) by Theresa Trarore Dahlberg, Plot 35 (France, Qatar) by Eric Caravaca, Republic of Silence (Syria, Germany, France, Qatar) by Diana El Jeiroudi, and Trophy (the US, UK, Qatar) by Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau.
The selected shorts are Clouds (Oman, Qatar) by Muzna Almusafer, Disruption (Lebanon, Germany, Spain, Qatar) by Feyrouz Serhal, I Have Been Watching You All Along (Qatar), a short experimental by Rawda al-Thani, post-production grant for Kashta (Qatar) by A J al-Thani, The Dog’s Children (Saudi Arabia, Qatar) by Layan Abdul Shakoor and The Key (Jordan, Germany, Qatar) by Ghassan Jaradat.
“The diversity of submissions for this year’s Grants has been exceptional, and we chose the 32 projects for their power to touch a chord among film audiences, anywhere in the world,” al-Remaihi said.
There are two submission cycles for the Grants annually. The next cycle opens on January 9, 2017, and closes at midnight (GMT+3) on January 23. For details, one can log on to www.dohafilminstitute.com
In addition to the Grants programme, DFI has co-financing schemes as well as the Qatari Film Fund dedicated to supporting short and feature filmmaking by Qatari directors.
Daoud’s Winter
