New cinematic voice rises in Doha

Women filmmakers push boundaries of storytelling as 'Made in Qatar' slate define landmark first edition

The Doha Film Festival's first edition has offered a clear signal of Qatar's ambitions to nurture a robust film culture, with its Made in Qatar slate placing a fresh generation of local filmmakers at the heart of the event.

Emerging from 15 years of development efforts by the Doha Film Institute, these filmmakers now stand at the forefront of a maturing ecosystem built through grants, labs and training platforms such as 'Qumra' and 'Ajyal' as well as earlier showcases that shaped the current pipeline.

Festival director and institute chief Fatma Hassan Alremaihi said the commitment to local voices was both a responsibility and a privilege, adding that the filmmakers screening in the section were opening doors to Qatari culture and strengthening the nation's cinematic identity.

She said the programme honoured the courage of directors whose work was shaping a creative legacy that stretches well beyond regional borders. Filmmakers screening in this year's selection echoed that sentiment, calling it a defining moment for Qatar's film community.

Director Fatma Al-Ghanim, presenting her documentary 'Theatre of Dreams' on the first Qatar Women's National Football Team, said the present moment carried promise for emerging talent, noting the complete development pipeline created by the institute. She said the strengthened support system had allowed filmmakers to pursue personal stories with growing confidence.

Animator Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, co-director of 'Al-Aqiq: Darkness of Virtuality', described the transformation of the industry across a decade of working with the institute. He said he had witnessed a maturing environment, a more interconnected community and the beginnings of a sustainable creative landscape that offered younger filmmakers genuine cause for optimism.

For director Fahad Al-Nahdi, whose film 'Project Aisha' screens in the competition, the long-term relationship with the institute has been foundational. He said a decade of working across festivals and community events had revealed steady improvements in resources and funding, allowing for a stronger impact.

Documentary filmmaker Eiman Mirghani, presenting 'Villa 187', said DFI workshops and year-round lab programmes continued to nurture Qatari and resident filmmakers, shaping a generation that had grown in tandem with the institute's rise.

The 10 films in the Made in Qatar line-up form an intimate snapshot of the ideas, concerns and creative languages defining Qatar's evolving screen identity. They also reflect the institute's belief that nurturing early voices is essential to building a culture where bold stories can take root and thrive over time.

Alongside the celebration of local filmmaking, the festival also hosted a timely discussion on women's perspectives in cinema, bringing together a panel of acclaimed directors whose work explores identity, memory and resistance.

The session, titled 'Reframing Cinema: Diversity in the Female Gaze', featured Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir, Libyan-Syrian director Jihan K, British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi and Sudanese director Rawia AlHag, each offering a personal account of navigating stereotypes while pursuing stories rooted in lived experience.

Jacir, whose film 'Palestine 36' screened at the festival, said she did not begin her work by responding to stereotypes but by telling stories that felt true to her. She said her film centred on two women from different social classes, including a journalist writing under a male name for safety and recognition during colonial rule, and a village woman shaped by generational resistance.

She said she wanted to capture their reality rather than construct narratives around expectation or external perception. She added that the situation for Palestinian women had worsened in recent years, recalling that women had once been highly visible during the Second Intifada but were now increasingly pushed from public life. While she acknowledged that stereotypes remained a barrier for many directors, she said authenticity remained the foundation of her work.

Farah Nabulsi, whose 2020 short 'The Present' earned an Academy Award nomination, said her films 'The Present' and 'The Teacher' featured male protagonists, prompting questions about her choice.

She said her own experiences as a mother and daughter shaped her storytelling, adding that a maternal presence often emerged in her films regardless of who occupied the central role. She said women carried an intangible essence into their stories, offering contrasts to male-dominated narratives while refusing to be limited by expectation.

Sudanese director Rawia AlHag, whose film 'Khartoum' reflects on a beloved city transformed by conflict, said her responsibility as a filmmaker had grown as the war in Sudan intensified. She said the film aimed to remind audiences of the humanity behind political turmoil, carrying the voices of Sudanese women, men and children in a moment when visibility is urgent and deeply needed.

Afghan journalist-turned-filmmaker Najiba Noori described a different kind of rupture. Forced to flee Kabul after the Taliban takeover in 2021, she continued work on her documentary 'Writing Hawa', centred on her mother's life across decades of social and political change.

She said the political upheaval added a new layer to the film, though much of it remained rooted in the period before the Taliban returned to power. She said the film honoured her mother, a survivor of child marriage who later embraced education, entrepreneurship and self-expression despite the constraints surrounding her.

Together, the stories shared across the festival suggest a creative landscape marked by ambition, honesty and a willingness to confront the complexities of identity. For Qatar, the inaugural edition of the festival marks not just a platform for local filmmakers but a broader invitation for regional and global audiences to engage with a culture asserting its voice through cinema.