And, while watching films during this wondrous festival, I witnessed a second miracle in the making.
When I talk of miracles, there were many this year at the Doha Film Institute’s Ajyal Film Festival. Ajyal, for those who don’t know, is the Arabic word of “generations” and at this festival, as it has gone on for the past 12 years, young audiences pick the winners. The only exception is a jury of three world cinema filmmakers who this year picked the winners of the ‘Made in Qatar’ program. But more on that later.
The biggest miracle of Ajyal is that films like Sudan, Remember Us by Hind Meddeb and Laila Abbas’ stunningly moving, and at times funny Thank You for Banking with Us not only were screened — Meddeb’s doc about the youth movement in Sudan even opened the festival — but awarded by the youth and adult audiences. Abbas’ masterpiece, and I don’t use that word lightly, won the Best Feature Film Award in the Bader (18- to 25-year-old jurors) section, while Sudan, Remember Us walked away with the Audience Award.
This is during a time when women-helmed films that don’t fit the traditional “woe is me living as a female in the Arab world” narrative aren’t selected for international festivals. Or documentaries that hit too close to home are selected for cozy sidebars but don’t traditionally inaugurate world class events. Ajyal, and DFI are different of course. It’s why I come and support their events year after year.
But there were other miracles to be observed during this year’s festival. I talked about one in my previous Diaries from Ajyal. And the second one that happened right before my eyes was during the screening of another female-helmed film, this one co-directed by Debra Aroko and Nicole Gormley and titled Searching for Amani. After all was said and done, the film won the Best Feature Film Award in the Hilal (13 to 17 years) section. But that wasn’t the miracle I witnessed.
After the screening of the documentary about Simon Ali, a young wannabe journalist who is looking for answers after his father is murdered in Laikipia, Kenya, a lush area in the middle of the country, a man raised his hand. In his American accent, he said he was a professor at Northwestern University, which has a branch in Qatar and wanted to invite Simon, present at the Q&A for the film, to apply to their journalism program. Had he considered a school yet, the man asked the now nearly 18 year old Simon? Not really, the young man replied and from there a conversation was born about receiving aid and attending school in Qatar, to study journalism. Now how cool is that!? Very cool, even if I found it hard to forget the state that our profession is in at this time, when all of us are struggling for a few jobs and acting like hyenas around one another. But perhaps the presence of someone like Simon Ali could change all that. And anyway, the charismatic young man will probably go into TV, where things might be better.
It was a moment never to be forgotten, as I still remember the excited look in Simon’s eyes and the sincerity of the man offering up this wonderful idea.
After six days and six nights of wonderful hospitality, great films and wondrous conversations, I’m back home. But I carry with me all the encounters, and some of the delicious food I couldn’t resist (in areas we shall not discuss for the next couple of weeks!) which accompanied me during this latest journey to Doha. And next year, inshallah, it’s a new adventure, with both Qumra happening after the Holy Month of Ramadan and the new venture of the Doha Film Festival, where Ajyal will add fabulous grownups joining the young audiences for the adventure of the season. Mark my words.
See below for all the awards handed out during the closing ceremony of Ajyal on Saturday, November 23rd. Including those from the ‘Ajyal in Gaza’ program that screened films from Qatar for 90 young jurors in Gaza, where the jury awarded Above the Tamarind Tree (Qatar) by Buthyna Al Mohammadi the top honor.
“We have been inspired by how filmmakers respond to the changes around them. Through our support to young, emerging and independent voices, we have underlined the power of film to break barriers and form positive bonds through cultural exchange and understanding.”
DFI CEO and Ajyal Festival Director Fatma Hassan Alremaihi surrounded by jurors and winners of the 2024 edition
The ‘Made in Qatar’ Awards, which honor the works of Qatari and Qatar-based filmmakers, were evaluated by a three-member jury led by acclaimed Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri which also included Kenyan filmmaker Debra Aroko and Qatari filmmaker Amal Al Muftah. The winners are:
Abdulaziz Jassim Award for Best Performance: Qatari filmmaker Ali Al-Hajri - I Lay For You To Sleep.
Best Director Award: Paul Abraham and Abdulla Al-Hor - Alkaline
Best Film Award: I Lay For You To Sleep - Ali Al-Hajri
The winners of the 2024 Ajyal Jury Competition are:
Mohaq:
Best Short Film Award: Bottles (Morocco) - Yassine El Idrissi
Best Feature Film Award: Block 5 (Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Serbia)- Klemen Dvornik
Hilal:
Best Short Film Award: Canary in a Coal Mine (Lebanon) - Dwan Kaoukji
Best Feature Film Award: Searching for Amani (Kenya, USA)- Debra Aroko and Nicole Gormley
Bader:
Best Short Film Award: Apoleon (Egypt, France) - Amir Youssef
Best Feature Film Award: Thank You for Banking with Us (Palestine, Germany, KSA, Qatar, Egypt) - Laila Abbas
Audience Award: Sudan, Remember Us (France, Tunisia, Qatar) - Hind Meddeb.
All images courtesy of DFI, used with permission.