I believe wholeheartedly that we are what we watch. It’s been my mission to find works of art on the big screen — and on the little one now through Netflix and the likes — that will make life better. I mean, we can all remember that moment, as children, walking out of a theater having watched our favorite character or cartoon on the big screen and feeling an extra bounce in our step. I still experience that these days, whenever I watch something really special. I walk out of the darkened theater into the light of day — as a film writer most of my viewings are done during the day — feeling like anything is possible.

So when the Doha Film Institute kicked off their Ajyal Film Festival in 2014, I went to Qatar to experience the wonder first hand. It was everything I hoped it would be, children and young adults as juries, films that although made for all ages, could really infuse younger minds with a message of peace and hope. You know, an idealist film writer’s dream come true.

Their name and mission are explained best by the DFI themselves, “The Ajyal Film Festival, ‘Ajyal’, Arabic for ‘generations’, brings people of all ages together through screenings and events that inspire creative interaction and stimulate cinematic dialogue.”

Fast forward to today and they’ve just announced their program for the 7th edition of the Ajyal Film Festival. It includes an opening night featuring Elia Suleiman’s latest masterpiece ‘It Must Be Heaven’, a special “Made in India” section, as well as 23 Features and 73 shorts; 50 from the Arab World; 56 by women filmmakers and 19 films supported by the Institute. All will be pondered and examined by this year’s Ajyal Jury which is comprised of over 400 jurors from 41 countries including 48 international jurors.

Also, the centerpiece of the festival is its “Made in Qatar” program. This year’s 2019 Made in Qatar program presented by Ooredoo comprises of 22 inspiring films, including the world premieres of next completed projects from the Qatari Film Fund recipients, Ahmad Al Sharif’s ‘End of the Road’ and Kholood Al-Ali’s ‘Fragile’, shining the spotlight on Qatari talents and presenting the country’s stories to the world.

Finally, Ajyal 2019 is proud to host some key personalities in films, arts and humanity from Qatar and international; Master filmmakers Elia Suleiman and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, upcoming Arab filmmakers Amjad Abu Alala and Oualid Mouaness — their films have proven favorites for me this year! — visual artist Bouthayna Al-Muftah, filmmakers Jason Silva in partnership with WISE-Qatar Foundation and Gitanjali Rao, actor and producer Chace Crawford in partnership with beIN and Sundance TV and actor Kris Hitchen among others. 

Personally, I can’t wait to touch down in Doha once again. The city holds a special place in my heart, not only for its commitment to film, and culture in general, but also because anywhere you go, the scent of karak chai and the kindness of strangers’ smiles follows you. It’s like a lullaby for the soul of a writer feeling a bit lost at this moment in time.

You can find more information about Ajyal by clicking here. The full program is available here.