The proposed festival will be an upgrade to Ajyal, which serves as the institute’s annual jamboree.
The Doha Film Institute will host a new film festival starting in November 2025, further details of which will be disclosed at the Cannes Film Festival next month.
CEO Fatma Al-Remaihi confirmed the plan of expansion on the sidelines of Qumrah, DFI’s annual mentorship initiative for local filmmakers currently taking place in the Qatari capital.
“We will have new programming elements in the festival, both for the industry and the filmmakers, and also for the broader audience,” Al-Rumaihi told U.S.-based Variety, hinting at what the magazine called an “unspecified industry aspect”.
Al-Rumaihi first floated the idea of evolving the Ajyal film festival into something bigger back in November, during the annual event.
The Doha Film Institute will be celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, which has prompted the change, something that the institute has seen regarding its events in recent years, even in its annual festival’s format.
First started as a youth film festival that showcased family-friendly films in 2013, the current format of Ajyal was preceded by the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.
Its latest edition showcased curated films from all around the world, in addition to the ones made by local filmmakers.
Aiming to “amplify underrepresented voices, foster cultural understanding and spark meaningful conversations”, it also hosted the Voices from Palestine short film series, aiming to shed light on challenges faced by the Palestinian people, as well as the Made in Morocco programme.
Similarly, it has been hosting several activations, screenings and workshops in the periphery of the event every year.
Ajyal’s year-round program will now partly be incorporated in the new event, with the details poised to be disclosed in Cannes, set to take place from May 13 to 24, Al-Rumaihi said.
However, Qumrah, the incubator programme, will retain its stature. “We think it’s important for it to remain the way it is,” she added, highlighting the organisation’s push to create an ecosystem to foster the local film scene.
The new format will conversely also contribute to the betterment of the organisation, one that will see it evolve into “into something that’s more needed for the industry, especially here in Doha, but also for the wider industry in the MENA region,” Al-Rumaihi said.
“We are excited about this. We are really happy to unveil it because I know that a lot of people are asking questions.”
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