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Local Theater where we the WIP screenings were held

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Local Theater where we the WIP screenings were held

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Spotting Qumra on Al-Jazeera News at the airport on my way back to the States

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Spotting Qumra on Al-Jazeera News at the airport on my way back to the States

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Qumra festival poster and masterclass attendees

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Qumra festival poster and masterclass attendees

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Museum of Islamic Art (the architecture is chef’s kiss)

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Museum of Islamic Art (the architecture is chef’s kiss)

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The Museum of Islamic Art sits on a stand-alone island and is built off an artificial peninsula and near the Doha Corniche waterfront promenade 

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The Museum of Islamic Art sits on a stand-alone island and is built off an artificial peninsula and near the Doha Corniche waterfront promenade 

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Attending a masterclass by director Jim Sheridan

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Attending a masterclass by director Jim Sheridan

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1st night in Doha near the festival hotel

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1st night in Doha near the festival hotel

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Streets of Doha seen from the seat of my Uber

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Streets of Doha seen from the seat of my Uber

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Presenter at Working Breakfast Roundtable Meetings: Face to Face with the Documentary Initiatives

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Presenter at Working Breakfast Roundtable Meetings: Face to Face with the Documentary Initiatives

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Moderated by Nina Rodriguez

Guest Speakers:

Asad Muhammad (POV American doc inc.)

Brigid O’Shea (Documentary Association Europe)

Brandon Harisson (Words and Pictures)

Projects:

Khartoum - Ibrahim Ahmad (Snoopy)

Niemeyer 4 Ever - Marine Vaillant

House No. 7 - Hazar Yazji

After Tahar -  Soufiane Adel

After Tahar -  Damien Monnier

The Revolution - Charlotte Reekers

Son of the Streets - Mohammed Almughanni

Hawa - Afsaneh Salari

My Mother & I – Marwa Tammam

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House No. 7

Qumra Projects

Come back soon to see screening dates

Synopsis

After leaving their homes, trying to escape their conservative societies, and in pursuit of basic human freedoms, three girls, Rama, Marah, and Lilian, meet and rent rooms in an old Damascene house owned by Um Mousa, in one of the more liberal parts of Syria. The house in Bab Touma-isolated from reality-witnesses the diary of the girls' lives and their journey of self-discovery as they experience a sense of freedom for the first time. A close relationship forms between them as darkness and power outages make for the ritual of staying up by candlelight.
The trio find solace and companionship through conversations about sensitive subjects none dares bring up beyond the walls of house No.7 as the exterior world rages with conflict and chaos. However, their peace begins to be increasingly disrupted due to events outside their home, the collective emigration of their peers, and the struggle to secure the most essential needs. Deterioration is evident in the state of the house, and it reaches climax after a devastating earthquake takes place in Syria, followed by repetitive bombings. Exhausted and unable to bear new blows, the girls begin seriously planning another escape, this time outside the country.

About the Director

Rama Abdi, born in 1995, is a DOP and an independent director from Damascus, Syria. She is a student at the Higher Institute of Cinema in Syria and a graduate of the Department of Business Administration. Abdi began her filmmaking journey in 2018. Her first short documentary, 'Fish Dance,' was produced in 2022 and premiered at the 7th 7ème Lune Festival in Paris. She is also currently working on her first feature-length documentary, 'House Number 7'.

Credits

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Do You Love Me

Qumra Projects

Come back soon to see screening dates

Synopsis

'Do You Love Me' is an archive-based documentary that portrays the lived experiences of generations of Lebanese from the 1950s until today. Through the film, the viewer follows fictional and real characters from a range of mixed media sourced from documentary and fiction films, journalistic archives, TV and pop culture, photography and home videos. The film's rhythm mirrors Lebanon's oscillation between moments of war and moments of calm throughout this given period.
Featuring the stories, anecdotes, songs, art, and culture of the people who remained in Lebanon through these years, we begin to see and understand this society's collective memory, dynamics, and psyche. Rather than recounting a more traditional history, the film attempts to portray an emotional ethnography of the Lebanese people in a country unable to agree on its own past, present or future. The film's focus is not on a deep nostalgia for the past or the promise of any answers-instead, it lingers on the questions raised about life in these challenging times and how it affects our experience of the present.

About the Director

Lana Daher is a filmmaker living and working in Beirut, Lebanon. She earned a BFA in graphic design from the American University of Beirut and an MA in filmmaking from Goldsmiths, University of London. Growing up, Daher developed an interest in sonic and visual practices and has experimented with different ways of merging the two. Her most recent projects include directing two short documentaries on Icelandic-Danish contemporary artist Olafur Eliasson. Lana has also worked on music videos as well as commissioned documentaries about Lebanese artists and designers. She is passionate about exploring the intersections between documentary and narrative filmmaking, which has led her to direct and co-produce her first feature documentary, 'Do You Love Me'. The film is currently in production and has been awarded the Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung as well as grants from Sundance, AFAC, DFI and IDFA amongst others. Drawing from her life in Lebanon, Daher's work explores her current environment and themes of society, memory, and history.

Credits

Director

Lana Daher

Screenwriter

Lana Daher

Producer

Jean-Laurent Csinidis

Production Company

Films de Force Majeure

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The Myth of Mahmoud (co-directors: Mayar Hamdan and Shaima Al Tamimi)

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The Myth of Mahmoud (co-directors: Mayar Hamdan and Shaima Al Tamimi)

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The Myth of Mahmoud (في حالة أستيطان)

Qumra Projects

Come back soon to see screening dates

Synopsis

In this reflexive and creative documentary, Mayar (23) picks up the camera to capture the intricate lives of her Palestinian family, who have resided in Doha for over six decades. Against the backdrop of never-ending conflicts in their hometown, Gaza, the family's Doha home reflects their turmoil, with the focal point being Mayar's mother, Amal (61), whose grief is concealed beneath a veil of sarcasm. Amal navigates an enduring sense of displacement exacerbated by the loss of her father and residency sponsor, Mahmoud.
Simultaneously, as Mayar makes the United States her new home, Amal confronts the challenging task of determining the family's future place of residency. The end of her residency in Doha, marked by the arrival of the "retirement & end of service" letter, is fast approaching-a reality made more pressing amidst the global political turmoil in the family's homeland. Alone, she faces the responsibility of deciding where to go and how to care for her elderly mother, Teta and her emotionally unstable sister, Wafaa. But, in the face of the current political climate, a haunting question persists: in a world seemingly devoid of refuge, where will this displaced family find a haven?

About the Director

Shaima Al-Tamimi, a Yemeni-East African visual storyteller based in Qatar, uses her lived experiences to address social issues focusing on migration, healing, and sociocultural dynamics. A 2020 Photography and Social Justice Fellow at the Magnum Foundation, she created 'Don't Get Too Comfortable' (2021), which was nominated for the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the Venice International Film Festival and showcased at over 35 festivals worldwide. Shaima is also on the board of YWT, an organisation based in Yemen that focuses on providing opportunities in film mentorship and production to the youth of Yemen.

Mayar Hamdan, a Palestinian multi-platform writer, director, and producer, brings a distinctive design sensibility to her work, exploring MENA-centered themes like migration, displacement, generational trauma, and female-centred stories through the lens of colour theory. With a background in art & technology from CalArts, film training & development via the Doha Film Institute, game writing for multiple indie studios in Barcelona, and as a Lead Narrative Designer for Saudi game studio Lunacy, she now serves as a story consultant for multiple AAA games and as a writer for a Saudi Netflix series in Development. Her diverse portfolio includes writing, directing, and producing projects like 'Beit Byoot' (2019), available on Sundance TV, 'Don't Get Too Comfortable' (2021), which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and Ibqi: A Visual EP, set to be released in June 2024.

Credits

Director

Mayar Hamdan, Shaima Al Tamimi

Producer

Shaima Al Tamimi

Editor

Laith Majali

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Khartoum (co-directors: Rawia Alhaq, Anas Saeed, Timmea Ahmed, Ibrahim Snoopy)

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Khartoum (co-directors: Rawia Alhaq, Anas Saeed, Timmea Ahmed, Ibrahim Snoopy)

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Khartoum

Qumra Projects

Come back soon to see screening dates

Synopsis

Four Sudanese filmmakers mix observational documentary and innovative graphics, archives and animation to capture the lives of four real characters, all living and surviving in the war-torn metropolis of Khartoum. Street kids Lokain and Wilson embark on a mission in Khartoum's rubbish dumps to buy two beautiful shirts-only to find the war forces them into hiding.
Khadmallah, a single mother and tea lady, engages her daily clientele in gossip building up to the war but must rescue her daughter when fighting breaks out. Jawad is a rescue volunteer and medic who dreams of falling in love but flees to Egypt as the war kills his friends. Civil servant Magdi finds escapism from office life by racing pigeons with his son but must defend his house as fighting soon threatens to destroy all he has lived for.

About the Director

A representative for the directorial team, Ibrahim Ahmad is a multiple award-winning Sudanese filmmaker, born and raised in Lebanon and moved after the 2006 war as a teenager. He has experience in East and South Africa with over 15 films. Ahmad has represented Sudan in film industry events in Ethiopia, Egypt and Uganda. His short film 'Journey to Kenya' was awarded the special jury prize at the 6th edition of the Sudan Independent Film Festival in 2020. His other well-known contributions in films are 'Khartoum Offside', which received Best Documentary at the African Movie Academy Award. In addition to 'You Will Die at Twenty', a film that was awarded The Lion of the Future award at the Venice Film Festival in 2020. His contributions include supporting young emerging filmmakers with free workshops, consultations and mentorship on different stages of filmmaking with the latest technical innovations.

Credits

Director

Rawia Alhaq, Anas Saeed, Timmea Ahmed, Ibrahim Snoopy

Producer

Giovanna Stopponi, Talal Afifi

Production Company

Sudan Film Factory

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Son of The Streets (director: Mohammed Almughanni)

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Son of The Streets (director: Mohammed Almughanni)

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Renowned film luminaries convened in Doha to share their insights in a series of Master Classes offering invaluable guidance for the benefit of participating filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences.

I attended master classes with: 1) Jim Sheridan an Irish playwright, screenwriter, film director, and producer; 2) Martín Hernández an internationally revered supervising sound editor and sound designer.

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Closed preview screenings of 20-minute excerpts from feature-length Qumra projects in the final stages of post-production. Twenty-minute excerpts of projects are presented for select festival programmers, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters, post-production funds and VoD platforms.

Hawa by Najiba Noori and Rasul Noori

Naseem, Fight with Grace by Ana Naomi de Sousa

Let's Play Soldiers by Mariam Al-Dhubhani

Do You Love Me by Lana Daher

The Myth of Mahmoud by Mayar Hamdan and Shaima Al Tamimi

The Revolution by Min Min Hein

Son of the Streets by Mohammed Almughanni