This selection features diverse projects by Arab and global talent, auteurs, and emerging voices supported by the institute.
The 76th Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 16 to 27, has selected 13 films supported and co-financed by Doha Film Institute.
Doha Film Institute (DFI) has set a first in the Arab region for a film organisation, with its latest co-financed projects, About Dry Grasses by Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero selected to the Official Selection, In Competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, which takes place from May 16 to 27, 2023.
Additionally, Banel E Adama, the debut feature by Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye SY, recipient of the Spring 2023 grants, has been selected to In Competition, marking the first ever DFI grantee project selected to the prestigious section.
This nomination makes DFI the only cultural organisation in the MENA region to have eight supported projects including seven co-financed titles selected for the Official Selection, In Competition to date.
Diverse projects supported by DFI through its Grants programme will screen to global audiences in key sections of the festival including three in Official Selection and Un Certain Regard; one in Official Selection and Midnight Screening; four projects in the parallel section of Critics’ Week (Semaine de la Critique), one in Director’s Fortnight (Quinzaine des cinéastes), and one in ACID.
Speaking about the participation of the films, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of DFI, said: “The diversity of DFI-supported films at Cannes this year is a strong testament to the high quality of projects nurtured through the Institute’s funding and mentoring initiatives. We are honoured and proud to be supporting auteurs and previous Qumra Master’s on their prestigious new projects as well as the journey of emerging filmmakers from across the world to achieve creative excellence.
She added: “We are delighted that the works of talented filmmakers have once again made the cut at the premiere film event, competing with some of the most anticipated films in international cinema. The selection highlights our role as a vital link for bold and important voices from all over the world in realising their cinematic ambitions, and also underlines the focus of DFI and Qatar to support compelling stories that have the potential to shape world cinema.”
Co-financed by DFI, About Dry Grasses by acclaimed Turkish director, screenwriter and photographer Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Austrian director and screenwriter Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero will premiere in competition along with grantee Banel E Adama by Ramata-Toulaye SY competing with 18 other global entries.
About Dry Grasses (Turkey, France, Qatar/2023) follows Samet, a young teacher, who is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. When some events happen to him that he finds difficult to make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in. But his meeting with Nuray, herself a teacher, may help him overcome his angst.
Club Zero (Austria, UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Qatar/2023) by Qumra Master Jessica Hausner, narrates the story of Miss Novak, who joins the staff of an international boarding school to teach a conscious eating class.
Banel E Adama (Senegal, France, Mali, Qatar/2023) by Ramata-Toulaye SY is set in a remote village of Northern Senegal and follows the lives of Banel and Adama who long for a home of their own.
The Mother of All Lies (Morocco, France, Qatar/2023) by Asmae El Moudir, is a feature documentary in which the filmmaker investigates the secrets of a Casablanca family using different personal stories of each family member to ground historical events.
If Only I Could Hibernate (Mongolia, France, Switzerland, Qatar / 2023), by Zoljargal Purevdash, is about a poor but prideful teenager, who lives with his mother and siblings.
Hounds (Morocco, France, Belgium, Qatar/2023) by Kamal Lazraq, set in the working-class suburbs of Casablanca, narrates the story of a father and son, who are trying to make ends meet by doing odd jobs.
One of only three films selected for the Midnight Screenings segment of Official Selection is Omar La Fraise (Algeria, France, Qatar/2023), by Elia Belkeddar. The film is about an old-school gangster, who is forced to flee from France to Algiers, and must clean up his act to stay away from French prisons.
InshAllah Wallad (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar/2023), by Amjad Al Rasheed, is about a grieving mother shaken up by the sudden death of her husband, who is now at risk of losing her home to her brother-in-law.
Tiger Stripes (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar/2023), Amanda Nell Eu is about a girl who discovers a terrifying secret about her physical self.
I Promise You Paradise (Egypt, France, Qatar/2023) by Morad Mostafa is a short film about Eissa, a young illegal African migrant in Egypt in a quest against time to save his loved ones.
Lost Country (Serbia, France, Croatia, Luxembourg, Qatar/2023) by Vladimir Perisic explores the sensorial, emotional and political formation of a boy born at the beginning of the 80-is in Yugoslavia as the political system around him radically unfolds.
Deserts (Morocco, France, Germany, Belgium, Qatar/2023) by Faouzi Bensaïdi is about two longtime friends Mehdi and Hamid who work for a collection agency, and their meeting with an evader that marks the beginning of an unforeseen and mystical journey.
Machtat (Tunisia, Lebanon, France, Qatar/2023) by Sonia Ben Slama follows the lives of wedding musicians Fatma and her two daughters Najeh and Waffeh and their struggles to go about their daily live shopping for a better future.
