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Australian Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Toni Collette (Knives Out) has been announced as a Master at the 10th edition of the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent incubator, running from March 1 to 6.
She joins Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Martín Hernández, and Jim Sheridan who were previously announced as Masters for the 2024 edition of the meeting dedicated to supporting new voices from Arab and world cinema.
They join a long list of top professionals to have participated in Qumra since its launch in 2014, which has included James Schamus, Naomi Kawase, Asghar Farhadi, Gael Garcia Bernal and Tilda Swinton.
Additionally, the DFI has also announced the 40 projects by emerging filmmakers from more than 20 countries, that will participate in the event. (scroll down for full details).
Under the Qumra format, the Masters give a masterclass and provide one-on-one mentorship the talents attached to the projects, alongside a host of other industry professionals in attendance.
“We are honoured to welcome the contribution of accomplished actor and producer Toni Collette as one of our Masters,” said Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar’s Doha Film Institute.
“Her incredible command of storytelling and bringing humanity to characters makes her a perfect addition to the lineup of cinema luminaries who will provide invaluable mentorship to this year’s projects.”
Collette is currently gearing up for the shoot later this spring of Catherine Hardwicke’s A French Pursuit, in which she stars and also produces under the banner of her production company Vocab Films with Christopher Simon at New Sparta Productions.
The Qumra talents will participate in in-person masterclasses, networking and mentoring sessions from March 1 to 6 in Doha and online sessions from March 9 to 11.
The projects were selected by an expert panel of judges from hundreds of submissions received from filmmakers across the world.
They span 13 feature narratives, 11 documentaries, 11 shorts and 7 web/TV series in various stages of production. Within the selection, 11 are directedby Qatari or Qatar-based filmmakers.
2024 Qumra Projects (synopses provided by DFI)
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.
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