Plus actress and producer Toni Colette, is confirmed as the sixth 2024 Master for the upcoming tenth anniversary edition of the industry incubator, with the participating projects also announced.

The upcoming edition of Qumra will be the tenth and the DFI is celebrating the anniversary in a special way — by having six Master participating. The award-winning actor and producer Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Knives Out, Hereditary) was just announced as a Qumra Master for the 10th edition taking place from March 1-6, 2024 in Doha.

Founder of Vocab Films, Colette joins acclaimed film visionaries, Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Martín Hernández, and Jim Sheridan for the 2024 event dedicated to supporting important new voices from Arab and world cinema.

The Qumra Masters, as well as a large group of mentors — all esteemed professionals that range from filmmakers to film programmers, will meet the over 40 participating projects by emerging filmmakers from 20 countries. I’m proud to participate once again as press mentor and will meet with several projects, from narrative features to documentaries, to prepare them for the tough questions they’ll be asked once their projects hit the world stage, but also help nurture their inner star.

Meeting with the folks of the Doha Film Institute is always an exercise in hope and this time around, during these challenging times for the Region, was no exception. Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, didn’t make it to the Berlinale this year as this coming week sees the world premiere of ‘Ode to Our Land’, a fascinating cinematic tribute to the Father Amir, His Highness Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Hanaa Issa, Director of Film Funding & Programmes, Strategy & Development, as well as Qumra Deputy Director, was joined by Elia Suleiman, the DFI’s artistic advisor, to discuss the upcoming edition.

I asked Suleiman if the current political situation was being described fairly in the media, because I heard reports by industry insiders that Israeli filmmakers were being turned down by festivals and Palestinian filmmakers were being denied funding by major German organizations.

“I'm not part of this because first of all, I don't have any projects to submit anywhere. So I don't have firsthand experience but I've been hearing, like you exactly, of censorship not on the cinema level only but of all the arts — of the Palestinians and also those who are in solidarity of Palestinians,” Suleiman explained, continuing, "in Germany, I hear that if you have any kind of sympathy you might risk your career. Islamophobia may have taken the place of antisemitism.”

He explained further that “this is what I’m seeing. I don’t have an opinion about it other than, like you, we read about it, we see X artists have been cancelled — since the 7th of October this has been going on.”

I also point out that the DFI has been doing a wonderful work of explaining “the Other” or maybe even eliminating the idea of the other altogether. 

“Qumra is not about you know, take this side or that side,” Suleiman answered, “it's actually about creating a time out of the time — the idea is to preserve this distance for the filmmakers for a week or so, so that they can have a little breathing moment and have a little reflection.” He elaborated, “this is a moment where they can recenter themselves. So this is basically what Qumra is doing, in these kinds of intense moments. But it's always been that way. They come there because they can get a little time off from the world and at the same time have a little distance to view the world.”

Issa added “we don't maneuver the political ways ever. It's always been about supporting mostly first and second time filmmakers, so you know, young voices, mostly from the Arab region, but also beyond,” continuing that “I think that's just been very authentic and genuine. It speaks naturally, really about important issues and what cinema should be about from the Region. So it's gonna, of course, go into all sorts of different subjects — social, political, and historical.”

When I asked how they feel about having so many DFI supported projects in festivals each time, Suleiman joked, “we’ve gotten used to it!” Issa then added, “it’s quite unbelievable that it’s been ten years of Qumra and 13 years of the DFI. A lot of projects have passed through, the rough math is 40 projects per edition of Qumra, so that’s a lot of projects. We don’t focus on the numbers, for us it’s about having maintained that intimacy and that quality of the encounters and the authenticity through time. The resilience of the event.”

So what do the filmmakers expect out of Qumra, I inquire? Suleiman chimed back “you should ask them this question!” Then continuing, reassuringly, “I’m curious. Because when they tell me for example, you know that they loved it, after the fact, I never asked them specifically why. Because if you ask them why, you take the magic out of the experience. They loved it because they felt inspired. They loved it because they felt a sense of togetherness with other filmmakers. They loved it because they felt they had a little push to go back home and continue to work at their project — they feel reenergized probably. I mean, I’m imagining this is why when they say they loved. It is because we gave them a sense of continuity.”

His next admission reminds me of how I feel at the end of festivals.

"When Qumra ends, I feel a bit ‘post mortem-ic’ because it’s sad,” Suleiman admitted. “We go to the desert [for the final party, a tradition at the end of Qumra] and there is this kind of pleasurable empty feeling that is followed sometimes by a moment of, like, depression. It’s like working on a film, a production, you’re on edge and anxious to make sure it will work and when it’s finished you’re happy that is finished but at the same time you enter into this vacuum.”

“We call it the Qumra blues,” Issa added.

Finally, I admitted I have felt this deep sadness since October of 2023. And hopelessness, something new for me, which makes it hard to fight the good fight and continue to believe that cinema, art, can change the world for the better.

“I say exactly the same thing,” Suleiman conceded, “I think that the problem is not just the seventh of October. I think, we have been going through something universally. And so we're gonna have to set our minds on how to create pockets of hope, because these spaces are shrinking. But if we don't continue, we ourselves are actually in the act of killing the hope. So, what we do is we just keep on pushing the limits. Otherwise, why are we here?”

His explanation of the artist’s role in these kinds of situation is a classic and should be framed and hung on a wall of every home. “By nature, the good artist is also a critical person. There are artists actually proposing alternatives to the reality they are living, so it's normal. In those times, maybe there is a little hope, maybe there's a little frustration, a sense of loss… But maybe it's followed by a little distance and then you know, re-initiation into what must be done.”

Below, find a list of all the projects participating in this year’s Qumra. For more information, check out the DFI’s website.

 2024 Qumra Projects:

Development – Feature Narrative 

• Eldorado, The Taste of the South (Morocco, France, Italy, Qatar) by Alaa Eddine Aljem, follows a group of migrants who are looking to reach Eldorado, a secret utopian island where everyone lives in peace.

• To Leave or To Stay (Algeria, France, Qatar) by Azedine Kasri is about a suspended Franco-Algerian pilot who turns to cultivating his parents' olive fields in Algeria.

• The Dream Betrayed Me (Syria, France, Belgium, Germany, Qatar) by Mohammad Alchikho ("Shaikhow") tells the story of a fake hero in a real war.

• Al-Dana (Qatar) by Nora Al-Subai is about a young girl accused of bringing a curse on her village after the disappearance of a famous black pearl.

• ‘Trouble Magnet’ (Palestine, Germany, Jordan, Qatar) by Ahmad Saleh is about Ali, a teenager, who rides an imaginary donkey from Palestine to Germany.

In Production – Feature Narrative 

• Aisha Can’t Fly Away (Egypt, Tunisia, France, Qatar) by Morad Mostafa tells of the underworld of African migrant society in Cairo, as witnessed by Aisha, a Somali caregiver.

• Roqia by Yanis Koussim (Algeria, France, Qatar) tells the tale of a disciple of an old Raqi (a Muslim exorcist) worried that his master’s Alzheimer’s may unleash a long-contained evil.

Picture Lock – Feature Narrative 

• Across the Sea (Morocco, France, Belgium, Qatar) by Said Hamich Benlarbi, set in the 1990s, is about Nour, 27, who has immigrated illegally to Marseille and lives a marginal and festive life.

• Aïcha (Tunisia, France, Italy, KSA, Egypt, Qatar) by Mehdi Barsaoui, questions how far can we go to break free from our past?

• Ma (Myanmar, South Korea, France, Qatar) by The Maw Naing is the story of a young Burmese woman who moves to the big city to work in a garment factory to support her family.

• Perfumed with Mint (Egypt, France, Brazil, Qatar) by Muhammed Hamdy is about old friends who reunite in a nightmare where mint sprouts out of their bodies. 

• Celebration (Croatia, Qatar) by Bruno Anković explores the life of Mijo and the circumstances that lead to an expansion of fascism and extremism both in history and today. 

• Locust (Taiwan, France, USA, Qatar) by KEFF is set in Taiwan, where a mute twenty-nothing struggles to find meaning in the injustice of everyday life.

Development - Feature Documentary or Essay

• House No 7 (Syria, Qatar) by Rama Abdi is about three girls who meet and rent rooms in an old Damascene house after escaping their conservative societies, hoping to create a safe space isolated from everything.

• In the Shade of the Royal Palace (Dwellers of the Cabins) (Egypt, Qatar) by Hend Bakr, about people who used to live together in the centre Alexandria but were completely detached as if they lived in a distant, isolated village.

• My Mother & I (Iraq, Egypt, Qatar) by Dilpak Mated centres around a woman in her seventies, deeply connected with her sheep, and embarks on a journey through loss and change when her mother falls ill.

• After Tahar (Algeria, France, Qatar) by Soufiane Adel, the story of the director’s large Algerian immigrant family against the backdrop of his grandfather, an infantryman in the French Army in Indochina.

Work In Progress – Feature Documentary or Essay 

• Do You Love Me (Lebanon, France, Germany, Qatar) by Lana Daher is a personal journey through Beirut’s fractured historical, social, cultural, and political landscapes using archive footage.

• Hawa (Iran, France, The Netherlands, Afghanistan, Qatar) by Najba Nouri and Rasul Nouri documents Hawa, 40 years after her arranged marriage as a child, now eager to finally begin an independent life and to be literate.

• Naseem, Fight With Grace (UK, Qatar) by Ana Naomi de Sousa recounts the “people’s history” of British-Yemeni featherweight boxer Naseem Hamed, who became a world champion in 1995

• Son of the Streets (Palestine, Poland, Qatar) by Mohammed Almughanni is about a stateless Palestinian child in a Beirut refugee camp, who embarks on a courageous journey for recognition, education, and a brighter future.

• The Myth of Mahmoud (Palestine, USA, Lebanon, Kenya, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar) by Mayar Hamdan and Shaima Al Tamimi captures a Palestinian family who made Doha their home 60 years ago, once again grappling with the dilemma of moving or fighting to remain. 

In Production – Feature Documentary or Essay 

• Khartoum (Sudan, UK, Germany, Qatar) by Rawia Alhaq, Anas Saeed, Timmea Ahmed, Ibrahim Ahmad (Snoopy) is about a street boy, a civil servant, a tea lady, and a medic—four lives weave together in peace and war in this creative documentary set in the city of Khartoum, Sudan.

• Niemeyer 4 Ever (Lebanon, France, Germany, Qatar) by Aurélia Makdessi is about the now-shuttered International Fair created by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and the local Lebanese who attempt to rehabilitate his imagined utopia.

Qumra Shorts

• The Land Was Well Past its Zenith (Lebanon, Qatar) by Rita Mahfouz is a non-perspectival ‘documentation’ of Beirut that depicts the forces regulating the city following the events of 2019-20.

• Becoming a Vampire (Qatar) by Kummam Al Maadeed and Abeer Al Kubaisi is about Sara, who struggles with her draining corporate job and the social pressure from her mother. When a vampire bites her—she finds an opportunity to reclaim her autonomy.

• La Nuit a Peine (Tunisia, France, Qatar) by Wiame Haddad is a fictionalised documentary reconstruction depicting the eve of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon.

• Theatre of Dreams (Qatar) by Fatma Al-Ghanim is a film inspired by the true story of the courage and hidden sacrifices of the first Qatar Women’s National Football Team as told through the personal experience of its captain—exploring themes of identity, belonging, and broken dreams.

• Autumn (Qatar, Iran) by Annan Nassari and Aisha Al Jaidah is a romantic tragedy of the captivity of ambitious thoughts under short roofs. 

• Before the Day Breaks (Qatar) by Amal Al-Muftah is about Nour, a young truck driver who encounters an obstacle while delivering an urgent, unusual shipment to Qatar.

• Sundial (Chad, Egypt, Qatar) by Atheel Elmalik is set against the backdrop of an intensifying war, where young Najma must rely on the sun to find the right time to see Ziyad.

• Can You See Me? (Qatar) by Dhoha Abdelsattar tells of a lonely woman trapped in the cycle of a mundane life that spirals into emotional turmoil until she is forced to confront herself.

• I Wished for Solitude (Qatar) by Hamad Alfayhani is about a young man, who struggles with the news that he is losing his face.

• I Lay to Wait for You to Sleep (Qatar) by Ali Al-Hajri follows a man embarking on a desert odyssey in search of his requiem.

Qumra Series 

• All About Adam (Tunisia, Qatar) by Mehdi Hmili explores the tumultuous life of Adam Mejri, also known as the “Tunisian Bernard Madoff”, one of the most reviled figures in the country due to his controversial actions. 

• Beautiful Things (Jordan, Qatar) by Basel Owies is about an over-achieving university student, who is forced into a life of crime to protect her family and advance her legitimate political aspirations.

• Dyouf (Palestine, Qatar) by Saleh Saadi is about a family of five that runs a guesthouse in their Bedouin village in Occupied Palestine while living in a turmoil of relations, identity, and career.

• Hazawi (Qatar) by Latifa Al Darwish and Abdulaziz Yousef is an adventure animation series that takes place in the late 1980s, featuring a magical world full of Jinn creatures and two children. 

• The Blue Weddings (Algeria, France, Qatar) by Samia Dzaïr is set in France, where an Algerian family celebrates the union of their eldest son with a young woman. The next morning, he is found dead in their wedding bed.

• Rabet (Qatar, Tunisia, Jordan, Sudan, UAE, Egypt, KSA, Lebanon) by Aya Al Blouchi and Basel Owies is an anthology series of Middle Eastern crime stories that explore the complex ironies of human morality.

• My Sister and I (KSA, Qatar) by Lucy DerTavitian tells the tale of two Saudi sisters who use education to escape crushing poverty and patriarchy.