Plus Atom Egoyan fresh from the Berlinale and Academy Award nominated sound designer Martín Hernández, all to give Masterclasses while in Qatar.

The Doha Film Institute never disappoints. It is the one organization in the MENA region that continues onward, at the same pace since its inception in 2010. Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani founded the DFI then to support the Arab film industry, especially in Qatar, as well as for creators abroad. Mission accomplished, I’d say.

This year, they have outdone themselves it seems, with their choice group of five Qumra Masters who will be in Qatar as inspiration, mentors and esteemed guests of the Institute. This will be Qumra’s milestone Tenth Edition and what an event it is preparing to be! Inshallah.

Lots of things have changed in the Region since last year, with conflicts we thought now extinguished reigniting again (Yemen and Sudan) or perhaps never having really gone away, except in the Western perception and media. But also an awful new conflict arising in Palestine, with the Hamas/Israeli war — if that can be called a war. More like a one-sided ethnic cleansing. But I’ll leave politics to those better suited to discuss them.

I’m a film lover, even before being a film writer and I think cinema can help heal the world. I may be a dreamer, but I hope, deep in my heart, I’m not the only one. Somehow, when I reach the beautiful Doha, I begin to understand that, at least at the DFI, I have some allies in my belief.

The announcement from Doha was also welcomed relief. It read like this:

“Doha Film Institute has announced its selection of five internationally renowned film visionaries who will serve as Qumra Masters for its tenth annual industry incubator event to be held from 1–6 March 2024. Qumra is one of the world’s few standalone events designed to provide emerging filmmakers with the unmatched opportunity to be mentored by global cinematic masters and industry experts while also offering networking and collaboration opportunities with film industry professionals.”

This year also marks my second as a press advisor, to a few select projects that haven’t been revealed to me either, as yet. Last year’s selection have all “graduated” with gold stars and gone on to screen in Cannes, Sundance and the upcoming Berlinale. It is hard to describe how proud I feel of those films and their filmmakers but the best way would be to compare it to being a mom, seeing her children go out into the world and conquering the often elusive muse of success. There were sessions last year where we cried, laughed, told each other our childhood dreams and what our future aspirations would be. We even held one imaginary Oscar statuette during one very emotional session. You can’t buy that kind of human connection but it comes with the territory at the DFI’s Qumra industry incubator.

This year the DFI is welcoming acclaimed filmmakers— Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Martín Hernández, and Jim Sheridan, as 2024 Qumra Masters, who will share their directorial expertise with Qumra delegates and registered participants. 

Jim Sheridan, I’ve gotten to interview a few times and he’s probably one of my favorite filmmakers, if not the favorite. His treatment of subjects that take place in his native Ireland are so relatable that I often thinks masterpieces like The Boxer or In the Name of the Father could be remade as Palestinian films. The latter, starring the Bakri patriarch and one of his offsprings as the leading men of course.

For his latest project, Sheridan is teaming up with writer-director David Merriman for a hybrid docu-drama about the unsolved Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder case, whose story was featured in the great Netflix series Sophie. Having watched, rewatched and loved that limited series on the American streamer, I can’t wait for Sheridan’s take of murder in the eerie Irish countryside.

Cairo born, Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s latest Seven Veils, starring Amanda Seyfried will have just screened at the Berlinale by the time he touches down in Doha. The film world premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and continues in the vein of Egoyan’s work, which the TIFF website describes as “cinema [which] has explored families shattered by loss and betrayal, parents and children becoming alien to one another, the tangle of legacies, and monomania.” Egoyan has won five top honors at Cannes Film Festival and two Academy Awards nominations and he’s considered one of the driving forces of the Toronto New Wave in cinema.

Recognized for their unique approach, Claire Denis’ films challenge viewers to confront the boundaries of culture and identity. Her portfolio of work includes acclaimed films such as Beau Travail (1999), Trouble Every Day (2001), Vendredi Soir (2002) and 35 Rhums (2009). Denis enjoyed an incredibly successful 2022 with her emotionally cutting Both Sides of the Blade which won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. as well as her enigmatic Stars at Noon, nominated for the Palme d’Or and awarded the Grand Prize of the Cannes Film Festival.

Denis was already a Qumra Master in 2020 when the event took place strictly online, due to the worldwide pandemic. It will be lovely to see her in person this time around.

Leos Carax is a filmmaker whose work defies the conventional boundaries of narrative and style. Carax’s career has been a relentless pursuit of artistic innovation. As a personal aside, I once spent a fascinating weekend with his mother, Joan Dupont, a former International Herald Tribune film journalist and wonderful woman. She famously never talks about her son and my own ignorance at the time prevented me from asking her about him.

Carax’s filmography is rich with thematic and artistic innovation and includes notable works such as Mauvais Sang (Bad Blood, 1986), Les Amants du Pont Neuf (The Lovers on the Bridge, 1991), and the 2012 film Holy Motors, selected for Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. His latest feature film Annette, a pop-rock melodrama starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver, also screened at the festival in 2021 and won the award for Best Director in Cannes.

Last but not least is Martín Hernández, an internationally revered supervising sound editor and sound designer whose distinguished career has seen him become a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Sound Editing for both Birdman (2014) and The Revenant (2015), directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. He is also a BAFTA winner for The Revenant and has been nominated for Pan’s Labyrinth, Babel, and Birdman.

Last summer, Hernandez co-supervised and designed for Issa López the 4th season of the HBO True Detective: Night Country. He and his team made the sound for Radical, by Chris Zalla, debuting at Sundance Film Festival 2023, and co-supervised Iñárritu’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, The Sky Is Everywhere by Josephine Decker and Emily the Criminal by John Patton Ford. In 2020, he re-mixed the Amores Perros soundtrack released by Criterion Collection on the 20th Anniversary of the film.

Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, said, “as the Arab world’s first-of-its-kind talent incubator, Qumra has served as the preeminent platform for emerging talents to give their projects a distinct advantage through invaluable networking sessions with leading industry professionals. The guidance they receive through Qumra enables them to approach their project from a richer perspective and navigate the various challenges in the script-to-screen journey.”

Alremaihi continued, “what makes this experience rewarding is the opportunity to have direct access to our acclaimed Qumra Masters, who have redefined the parameters of film through bold innovation and exceptional creativity. We are proud and honoured to welcome Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Martín Hernández, and Jim Sheridan as our Qumra Masters for this landmark year. Their contribution to world cinema is extraordinary, and Qumra delegates this year can look forward to an enriching experience under their remarkable mentorship as we now enter our milestone tenth edition.”

Famous last words belong to wondrous Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman, who serves as Artistic Advisor at Doha Film Institute. He said: “Our Qumra Masters are bold and visionary filmmakers who have left an indelible imprint in world cinema with unique and innovative approaches to storytelling. Their cinematic oeuvre stands out for their fearless exploration of the medium. Their perspectives on filmmaking will undoubtedly benefit our young filmmakers, and in turn, contribute to a richer body of works by emerging talents in the region and beyond.”

And that is cinema, in a paragraph. Qumra, which means “camera” in classical Arabic, will take place in Doha, Qatar from March 1-6, 2024. For more information, check out their website.

Images courtesy of the Doha Film Institute, used with permission.