Doha Film Institute Announces New Grants Recipients Which Include Projects From U.S. And Italy

The Doha Film Institute has announced the twenty-one recipients of its latest round of grants dedicated to first and second time directors largely from the Middle East, but also including projects from the U.S. and Italy for the first time

Several of the selected projects provide unconventional perspectives on conflicts in the Middle East region. “Dégradé,” (pictured) the debut feature from buzzed-about Palestinian twin brothers Arab and Tarzan Abunasser, is about twelve women stuck in a Gaza hair salon for a whole afternoon while they witness a violent confrontation taking place across the street. Syrian director Bassam Chekhes’s “To All Naked Men” is a drama auspiciously set as the Syrian civil war is drawing to an end.

Three are from Tunisia: Walid Mattar’s “Northern Wind,” an exploration of friendship between two men whose lives cross paths due to a shoe factory relocation; Claire Belhassine’s docu “The Man Behind The Microphone,” about Hedi Jouini, known as the “Frank Sinatra of Tunisia,” and second-time DFI grantee Kaouther Ben Hania’s docu “Zaineb Hates the Snow,” an intimate family portrait about a young girl who is forced to relocate to Canada after the death of her father.

Two projects are by Qatar-based filmmakers: Nora Al Subai’s “Opening Doors,” the true tale of Amna Mahmoud, a bold Qatari teacher who opened the first school for girls in Qatar in 1957, and Karem Kamel’s “Light Sounds,” about an unlikely duo of Sri-Lankan immigrants who work as cleaners in a washroom neighbouring a mosque.

American director Martin Dicicco’s docu “The Silk Railroad,” about the new railroad being built through Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia; U.S.-based Iranian director Anahita Ghazvinizadeh’s “They,” her first-feature following her short “Needle,” which won the top nod at the Cannes’ Cinefondation in 2013; and Italian director Jonas Carpignano’s “Mediterranea,” about a native of Burkina Faso who makes the dangerous journey across the Sahara and Mediterranean in search of a better life as an immigrant in Italy, also made the cut.

“Our Fall grantees represent some powerful new voices in cinema,” enthused DFI CEO Fatma Al Remaihi in a statement. “The cultural diversity among the projects is very inspiring, as is the fact that once again, we are seeing so many strong female-driven projects,” she added. Of the twenty-one selected projects, twelve are by women.

Four DFI-funded pics are screening in Berlin. Two docus, David Yon’s “The Night and The Kid” and Michel Zongo’s “The Siren of Faso Fani” are world-preeming in the fest’s Forum section, where
Ghassan Salhab’s “The Valley,” which bowed at Toronto is also unspooling. Jasmina Metwaly and Philip Rizk’s “Out on the Streets” will have its world premiere in Forum Expanded.

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