Still from the movie Samha
A selection of charming shorts that will keep the whole family entertained, the final showcase of films by local talents, an insightful discussion on music in cinema and general screenings of international films are the highlights of today at the sixth Ajyal Film Festival.
Following the overwhelming response to first Made in Qatar programme presented by Ooredoo, the second Programme, featuring eight short films by Qatari and Qatar-based filmmakers, will be screened today at 7pm at the Katara Drama Theatre.
The shorts to be screened in the programme include: Amphitheater (2018) by Mahdi Al Ali; The Bleaching Syndrome (2018) by Eiman Mirghani; Just Another Memory (2018) by Mariam Al-Dhubhani; Nasser Goes to Space (2018) by Mohamed Al Mahmeed; The Reason, July 2017 (2017) by Hadeer Omar; Samha (2018) by Noor Fawzi Al-Asswad; Unrestrained (2018) by Houssam Laabar; and Where Are You Right Meow? (2018) by Maysam Al-Ani.
This will be followed by the Made in Qatar awards evaluated by an eminent jury that includes Turkish Actress Tuba Unsal, Dr. Amal Mohammed Al Malki, Founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Irish filmmaker Collin McIvor.
On Saturday, listen to composer and producer Khaled Mouzanar, whose masterclass on ‘The Power of Music in Cinema’ as part of Ajyal Talks, will explore the enduring power of music and his personal triumphs and challenges including his most recent contribution to Nadine Labaki’s Capharnaüm (Lebanon/2018), the movie will be screened at the Ajyal Film Festival at 8:30 PM. The session, at 4:45 PM at the Katara Drama Theatre, is moderated by Ahmed Shihab El-din.
Also free for the public is the screening of Journey to the Beginning of Time (Czechoslovakia/1955) by Karel Zeman, as part of SONY Cinema Under the Stars at Katara Esplanade at 7 PM. The film is about a group of young boys who rent a boat at an inner-city park and enter a small cave only to exit into a new world.
In general screenings, do not miss Leave No Trace (USA/2018), nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Seattle International Film Festival 2018. Directed by Debra Granik, the film is about a father and daughter who live an isolated life in an idyllic nature reserve. When a small mistake tips their bucolic life and they are put into social services, they must set off on a harrowing journey back to the only place they know as home. The screening is at 8:30 PM at Katara 12 Theatre B.
