The eighth edition of the Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival will be held at the Sheraton Doha from April 19-22.
This year, the number of producers who submitted their entries has exceeded 1,070. Out of 682 films that participated, only 168 have been selected for the final competition. They fall in the following categories: Short films – 46; Medium - 66 films; Long- 28 films; New Horizon - 19 films and Promising - 9 films.
On the sidelines of the festival, there will be a photography contest entitled “Future” and a two-day workshop on “foundations of film making”.
In addition, a production exhibition will be organised to host 56 production companies from various countries, 48 of them being international companies. Present at the festival will be celebrities like Nour El-Sherif, Hanan Turk.
The theme for this year’s festival is “Future”. It expresses the dreams, hopes, aspirations and ambitions of the youth and also expresses a deep longing of all people, an optimistic and positive change in their lives.
Abbas Arnaout, festival director, said: “It is a slogan that is pertinent to the current period we live, that is, the Arab Spring.”
This year, jury members are coming from all over the world: China, Cuba, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. The films selected for the final competition will be screened at the various halls in The Doha Sheraton.
While 90 countries have submitted films, the number of participating countries has been restricted to 59. Some countries are taking part in the event for the first time.
Out of the 97 films submitted by TV stations, only 23 films will take part in the competition. The total number of jury members is 15. The jury includes critics, journalists and specialists in documentary films.
Gulf Times
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