Hosted by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) at Katara Cultural Village, Ajyal concluded with a colourful gala, where the winners were announced.
Over 550 young Ajyal Jurors selected the Best Films and Best Short Films in the Bader (voted by jurors aged 18 to 21), Hilal (13 to 17 years), and Mohaq (8 to 12 years) categories. Representing 55 countries, they included 25 international jurors who came to Doha for the event from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Spain, Turkey and the UK.
The winners are: Bader -- Best Film: Capharnaüm (Lebanon/2018) directed by Nadine Labaki, Best Short Film: Transformation (Kuwait/2017) by Yousef al-Bagshi.
Hilal: Best Film: What Walaa Wants (Canada, Denmark/2018) directed by Christy Garland, Best Short Film: Killing Hope (France/2017) by Julia Retali and Natacha Grangeon.
Mohaq: Best Film: Zoo (Ireland, UK/2017) directed by Colin McIvor, Best Short Film: Gubgub (Qatar/2018) by Nouf al-Sulaiti.
Award-winner Kailash Satyarthi is seen with kids at the closing night reception during the Ajyal Film Festival
Capharnaum also won the Audience Award, while Gubgub had earlier bagged the inaugural Abdulaziz Jassim Award for Best Performance, instituted this year in honour of the late legendary Qatari actor, for Fatima al-Nahdi, at the Made in Qatar Awards. This year, the Ajyal Film Festival competition showcased 33 shorts, including eight ‘Made in Qatar’, and 13 thought-provoking feature films.
At the closing ceremony, Nobel Peace laureate Satyarthi, who was at Ajyal for the screening of the film The Price of Free (US/2018), which documents his life and work, was presented with an Honorary Award by the festival, for his global leadership and remarkable contribution to the prevention of exploitation and violence against children.
Under the aegis of his organisation, ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ (Save the Childhood Movement), more than 87,000 children have been rescued from the scourge of bondage, trafficking and exploitative labour till date. Satyarthi also rallied the support of children in Qatar with the young Ajyal Jurors joining him in taking the pledge to support the 100mn Campaign, which he had launched in 2016 to mobilise 100mn youth for shaping a better and promising future for 100mn not-so-privileged children.
Addressing the Ajyal Jurors at the closing ceremony of the festival, DFI CEO and festival director Fatma Hassan al-Remaihi, said: “As we commenced the 6th edition of the Ajyal Film Festival, our goal was to create a cinema event that represents ‘A Voice for Generations.’
In all, Ajyal’s diverse film programme had 23 features and 58 shorts, including 24 from the Arab world and 44 by women filmmakers. The festival opened with Freedom Fields (Libya, UK, US, Netherlands, Canada, Lebanon, Qatar/2018), a gutsy and inspiring documentary on how courage can overcome cultural and societal stereotypes in the pursuit of dreams.
An inspiring journey through the ups and downs of three women’s efforts to build a football team in post-revolution Libya, its screening at Ajyal coincided with the symbolic handover year of the World Cup from Russia to Qatar, and complemented the vision of the Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022 to deliver the first-ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East. Six short films ‘Made in Russia’ were also screened at Ajyal this year to mark the Qatar-Russia Year of Culture.
A highlight of Ajyal this year [RE]ACTION, an interactive art exhibit featuring the works by 12 of Qatar’s most promising filmmakers and artists. It was an artistic tribute to the courage and resilience of Qataris and those who call Qatar home, for weathering a storm and coming out stronger together because of it.
The Ajyal Talks this year featured Khaled Mouzanar, the producer and composer of Capharnaum, and eL Seed, the French-Tunisian ‘calligraffiti’ artist, while Geekdom, one of the largest pop-culture events in Qatar, featured cool cosplay days, edge-of-your-seat video game tournaments, and film screenings. At the event, Qatar’s character designers, concept artists, storyboard artists and fan artists showcased their skills and shared their arts and products with the community.
2018 Ajyal Film Festival’s Official Partners include: Katara Cultural Village – Cultural Partner; Ooredoo – Principal Partner; Novo Cinemas – Strategic Partner and St Regis Doha – Signature Sponsor.
Over 550 young Ajyal Jurors selected the Best Films and Best Short Films in the Bader (voted by jurors aged 18 to 21), Hilal (13 to 17 years), and Mohaq (8 to 12 years) categories. Representing 55 countries, they included 25 international jurors who came to Doha for the event from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Spain, Turkey and the UK.
The winners are: Bader -- Best Film: Capharnaüm (Lebanon/2018) directed by Nadine Labaki, Best Short Film: Transformation (Kuwait/2017) by Yousef al-Bagshi.
Hilal: Best Film: What Walaa Wants (Canada, Denmark/2018) directed by Christy Garland, Best Short Film: Killing Hope (France/2017) by Julia Retali and Natacha Grangeon.
Mohaq: Best Film: Zoo (Ireland, UK/2017) directed by Colin McIvor, Best Short Film: Gubgub (Qatar/2018) by Nouf al-Sulaiti.
Award-winner Kailash Satyarthi is seen with kids at the closing night reception during the Ajyal Film Festival
Capharnaum also won the Audience Award, while Gubgub had earlier bagged the inaugural Abdulaziz Jassim Award for Best Performance, instituted this year in honour of the late legendary Qatari actor, for Fatima al-Nahdi, at the Made in Qatar Awards. This year, the Ajyal Film Festival competition showcased 33 shorts, including eight ‘Made in Qatar’, and 13 thought-provoking feature films.
At the closing ceremony, Nobel Peace laureate Satyarthi, who was at Ajyal for the screening of the film The Price of Free (US/2018), which documents his life and work, was presented with an Honorary Award by the festival, for his global leadership and remarkable contribution to the prevention of exploitation and violence against children.
Under the aegis of his organisation, ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ (Save the Childhood Movement), more than 87,000 children have been rescued from the scourge of bondage, trafficking and exploitative labour till date. Satyarthi also rallied the support of children in Qatar with the young Ajyal Jurors joining him in taking the pledge to support the 100mn Campaign, which he had launched in 2016 to mobilise 100mn youth for shaping a better and promising future for 100mn not-so-privileged children.
Addressing the Ajyal Jurors at the closing ceremony of the festival, DFI CEO and festival director Fatma Hassan al-Remaihi, said: “As we commenced the 6th edition of the Ajyal Film Festival, our goal was to create a cinema event that represents ‘A Voice for Generations.’
In all, Ajyal’s diverse film programme had 23 features and 58 shorts, including 24 from the Arab world and 44 by women filmmakers. The festival opened with Freedom Fields (Libya, UK, US, Netherlands, Canada, Lebanon, Qatar/2018), a gutsy and inspiring documentary on how courage can overcome cultural and societal stereotypes in the pursuit of dreams.
An inspiring journey through the ups and downs of three women’s efforts to build a football team in post-revolution Libya, its screening at Ajyal coincided with the symbolic handover year of the World Cup from Russia to Qatar, and complemented the vision of the Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022 to deliver the first-ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East. Six short films ‘Made in Russia’ were also screened at Ajyal this year to mark the Qatar-Russia Year of Culture.
A highlight of Ajyal this year [RE]ACTION, an interactive art exhibit featuring the works by 12 of Qatar’s most promising filmmakers and artists. It was an artistic tribute to the courage and resilience of Qataris and those who call Qatar home, for weathering a storm and coming out stronger together because of it.
The Ajyal Talks this year featured Khaled Mouzanar, the producer and composer of Capharnaum, and eL Seed, the French-Tunisian ‘calligraffiti’ artist, while Geekdom, one of the largest pop-culture events in Qatar, featured cool cosplay days, edge-of-your-seat video game tournaments, and film screenings. At the event, Qatar’s character designers, concept artists, storyboard artists and fan artists showcased their skills and shared their arts and products with the community.
2018 Ajyal Film Festival’s Official Partners include: Katara Cultural Village – Cultural Partner; Ooredoo – Principal Partner; Novo Cinemas – Strategic Partner and St Regis Doha – Signature Sponsor.
