For film insiders the Qumra event — held once a year in Doha, Qatar and bringing together industry experts and filmmakers from all over the world — was always a highly anticipated gathering to put on our calendars. But in the age of pandemic, where we need all the inspiration we can get to simply continue onward, Qumra has become a lifeline. This edition, where parts of its exciting program will be available to global audiences, will feature Claire Denis, James Gray, Jessica Hausner, Mark Mangini and Phedon Papamichael, returning to provide more of their wisdom with their Qumra Masters classes, as well as French photography icon Brigitte Lacombe, in conversation with yours truly (yes, I’m jumping out of my skin with excitement!) and Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan.

Of course, aside from providing endless inspiration with their informative masterclasses and conversations, Qumra is known as an incubator of future talents.. It is a place where projects that are handpicked and curated each year can be mentored by festival directors, media personalities, producers, marketing experts and other filmmakers to achieve the perfection needed to reach global audiences. And they do. At the most prestigious film festivals around the world, you can’t flip through their line-ups without finding at least a couple of titles supported by the DFI. Actually, in Cannes and Venice, there are usually more than half a dozen films that have passed through Qumra at some point or another — be it in pre-production, development, post-production or even at picture lock.

This year, the Doha Film Institute must feel extra pride following the announcement of their visionary CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi having been chosen as one of the women, according to Variety’s International Women’s Impact Report, who made a global impact in entertainment.

So apart from films, this year the DFI also features TV and web series among the projects selected, as part of the 48 projects in total which will participate. Of these projects, 39 are recipients of the Doha Film Institute’s Grants program and the Qatari Film Fund.  In all, 15 feature projects are in the development stage, 15 feature projects in post-production, 6 TV and web Series Projects in Development, and 12 Shorts Projects (in Development and Post-Production). 

One I’m excited about is ‘Mornings in Jenin’ (Palestine, USA, UK, Qatar), directed by Palestinian helmer Annemarie Jacir, produced by Alison Sterling and written by Ismail Khalidi and Naomi Wallace. That’s the still above which is haunting and intriguing at once.

‘Mornings in Jenin’, the short synopsis says, “is a deeply human chronicle of the intertwining lives of three siblings who make starkly different choices in the face of turmoil and conflict.  Beginning in Palestine in 1947, it is a searing exploration of friendship, love, courage, and hope.” And don’t we all need some courage and hope these days!

The Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event runs from March 12th to the 17th, 2021. For more info, check out their website here.