Six films made with support from the Doha Film Institute (DFI) will screen at this years Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which commences on Thursday, September 4. Three of the films make their world premiere during the event.The films include Naji Abu Nowars Theeb and Ghassan Salhabs The Valley, both recipients of funding from the […]
Six films made with support from the Doha Film Institute (DFI) will screen at this years Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which commences on Thursday, September 4. Three of the films make their world premiere during the event.The films include Naji Abu Nowars Theeb and Ghassan Salhabs The Valley, both recipients of funding from the institutes grants programme; grant recipient Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako and co-financed project The Narrow Frame of Midnight by Tala Hadid. Eye & Mermaid, a short film directed by Shahad Ameen, was made with the Institutes Hazawi Short Film Production Fund.
Kahlil Gibrans The Prophet, also co-financed by DFI, will have its world premiere as a TIFF Special Presentation following its work-in-progress preview screening at the Cannes Film Festival. The innovative adaptation of the beloved classic features the work of eight renowned animators, among them Gulf talent Mohammed Saeed Harib (creator of the acclaimed animated series Freej), who directs the chapter On Good and Evil.
Fatma Al-Remaihi, Acting CEO of DFI, said: I congratulate all the filmmakers supported by the Doha Film Institute whose works have been selected to screen at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival. We are honoured to have played a part in bringing these wonderful projects to life and wish the filmmakers all the best on their festival journeys. TIFF has a notable history of excellent programming of films from the Arab world and this years selection is no exception. I am delighted to see these projects among the strong representation of voices from our region.
Making its world premiere in TIFFs Discovery section is The Narrow Frame of Midnight, the debut feature-length fiction film by acclaimed Moroccan-Iraqi filmmaker and visual artist Hadid.
Abu Nowars Theeb also screens in the Discovery section after its world premiere in the Orizzonti Competition at the Venice Film Festival.
The Valley, which makes its world premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema selection, is the fifth feature film by Lebanese director Salhab, whose highly acclaimed previous film The Mountain screened at TIFF in 2011.
Sissakos Timbuktu screens in the Masters section, while the newly minted Short Cuts International programme will include Eye & Mermaid, by Saudi director Shahad Ameen.
