Boasting upcoming titles in development from filmmakers like Ismaël El Iraki, Dima Hamdan and Hinde Boujemaa, plus those in post-production ranging from the MENA region to world cinema hailing from Hong Kong, Cameroon, Chile and Iran, the Doha Film Institute confirms its place as the best place for films and auteurs to meet, and find their well-deserved support.
Doha Film Institute (DFI) has marked a major milestone in its global mission to champion independent cinema, announcing the recipients of its 2025 Fall Grants Cycle while surpassing 1,000 supported projects worldwide since the program’s inception.
Among the titles that immediately jump to the eye of this writer is Berlinale Perspectives title Chronicles from the Siege by Syrian born Palestinian director Abdallah Alkhatib. Featuring among its cast two actresses who have been making waves in world cinema — Saja Kilani and Maria Zreik — the film is co-produced by Michel Zama of France’s Blue Train Films. As the film’s synopsis read, when it participated in Marrakech’s Atlas Workshops in 2024, “Chronicles from the Siege portrays the transformation of residents of a war zone as they face the harsh realities of survival. Through five stories, the film presents moments of humanity, dark humor, and difficult choices.”
Other much anticipated titles, which we’ll have to wait a while to watch as they’re currently in Development or Production, include films from writer/director Bassel Ghandour, whose work on the Jordanian Beduin western Theeb was Oscar nominated in 2016 and whose 2020 solo effort The Alleys premiered in the Piazza Grande in Locarno. With his project in Development titled Occupational Hazards, Ghandour delves into a dark comedy that chronicles the experiences of a multi-generational Palestinian family.
Ismaël El Iraki’s Wolfmother also participated in the Atlas Workshops, in 2023, and I caught up with the Paris-based Moroccan filmmaker then for Screen. The project is now in Production and tells the story of smuggler Amira Ouazzani, as she raises her children alone in Tangier.
Moufida Fedhila, hailing from Tunisia, is well known as a maverick producer in the MENA region where she has worked on real-life partner Mehdi Hmili’s films, Streams (2021) and Exile (2025). Both those films premiered in Locarno. Now she is stepping (or rather shall I say settling?) into the director’s chair with Girl of Wind, currently in Production, which tells the story of a teenage girl who at first escapes a suffocating life through skateboarding, until the return of her dying father forces her to confront the past.
This year, two projects supported by DFI have been nominated for upcoming Oscars. See the Instagram post below what they are and in which categories.
DFI supported projects for this cycle of Grants include 57 projects from 46 countries, including 10 projects by Qatari and Qatar-based filmmakers selected alongside projects from 14 MENA countries.
Awarded biannually in Spring and Fall, DFI Grants Program is one of the longest-running film development initiatives in the Region, dedicated to identifying and empowering first- and second-time filmmakers globally alongside established MENA directors in Post-Production. The program supports feature-length and short narratives, documentaries, experimental and essay films, as well as television and web series.
Reflecting the program’s growing global reach, the 2025 Fall cycle is among the most diverse to date, with projects from 14 MENA countries, alongside filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of DFI, said, about the current grantees “he filmmakers selected in the 2025 Fall Grants cycle exemplify the power of independent cinema to question, connect, and reveal deeper truths. We have helped filmmakers claim space, challenge dominant narratives, and ensure that cinema remains a vital force for empathy, dialogue, and shared understanding,” continuing that “by providing meaningful support and international pathways, we are helping ensure that the future of film is shaped by diversity, authenticity and a plurality of perspectives.”
Read the full list of 2025 Fall Grantees below.
MENA – Feature Narrative - Development
The Man Who’s Gone (Egypt/Qatar) by Naji Ismail, about Younes, who leaves nightmare-ridden Cairo for Upper Egypt, after a call from his dying mother requesting three mysterious gifts.
The Guardian (Libya/Algeria/Canada/Qatar) by Muhannad Lamin, set in the Libyan desert, where Assouf, an elderly Bedouin, is forced to guide two hunters into the mountains.
MENA – Feature Narrative – Production
Occupational Hazards (Jordan/UK/KSA/Palestine/Qatar) by Bassel Ghandour, is a dark comedy that chronicles the experiences of a multi-generational Palestinian family.
Wolfmother (Morocco/France/Belgium/Qatar) by Ismaël El Iraki, is set in Tangier, where smuggler Amira Ouazzani raises her children alone.
Amnesia (Palestine/Jordan/France/Belgium/Canada/Qatar) by Dima Hamdan is about a man with no memory who appears in Jericho and sets out to uncover his identity.
The Side Effects of Trusting Life (Lebanon/Germany/Norway/Qatar) by Ahmad Ghossein: after losing her job in Lebanon’s collapse, Lama develops anxiety-induced hearing loss.
Yammi (Tunisia/Belgium/Qatar) by Hinde Boujemaa, about a sister and brother who find themselves embroiled in a disagreement that shakes their family ties.
The Missing Planet (Egypt/Germany/Poland/Italy/Qatar) by Marouan Omara is a science fiction in which a paramedic races through a collapsing Cairo, and his own dreams.
The Wild Goat (Iraq/Germany/Norway/Qatar) by Kardo Mansur, when pollution poisons Majid’s village, he relocates his family to a remote cabin near the border.
Girl of Wind (Tunisia/Qatar) by Moufida Fedhila, a teenage girl escapes a suffocating life through skateboarding, until the return of her dying father forces her to confront the past.
MENA – Feature Narrative – Post-Production
Algerican Road (Algeria/France/KSA/Qatar) by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, a road movie, set along the southern Sahara, where two lorry drivers are violently robbed.
Chronicles from the Siege (Palestine/Algeria/France/Qatar) by Abdallah Al-Khatib, featuring interwoven stories of ordinary people, who are upended when their city comes under siege.
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep (Palestine/Belgium/Lebanon/KSA/Qatar) by Rakan Mayasi, is set in a valley veiled by fog and tribal codes, where two sisters walk into the night.
Pipes (Lebanon/KSA/Qatar) by Karim Kassem, is about a retired water authority worker under pressure from the village to bring back water while he mourns the death of his migrant worker.
MENA – Feature Documentary – Development
Remind Me to Forget (working title) (KSA/Qatar) by Lama Jamjoom, is set in a communal home for divorced and widowed women, where a Saudi woman searches for her estranged sons.
Everything She Didn’t Say (Algeria/France/Qatar) by Farah Abada, an essay documentary in which the filmmaker confronts the childhood trauma of her journalist father’s murder.
My Name is Khalil (Palestine/France/Lebanon/Qatar) by Bilal Alkhatib, named after his martyred brother, Khalil grows up as his family’s living echo through dance and music.
Where Do I Belong? (Sudan/Qatar) by Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad is between exile and homecoming, a filmmaker journeys back to Sudan’s devastation to reunite with his parents.
Onions to Forget the Past (Lebanon/France/Qatar) by Emilien Awada, is a journey about the filmmaker’s parents, who divided by religion, class and culture, exchanged secret letters.
MENA –Feature Documentary – Production
Souad and Lamine (Tunisia/Qatar) by Mohamed Ali Nahdi, in which the filmmaker documents his parents, legendary Tunisian artists Souad and Lamine.
Sama (Palestine/France/Qatar) by Rabab Khamis, is about Sama, only ten years old, who survives in the ruins of Gaza by collecting waste to provide for her family’s needs.
MENA – Feature Documentary – Post-Production
My Mother & I (Egypt/Iraq/France/Qatar) by Dilpak Majeed, follows a Yazidi woman in her 70s, finding herself at a crossroads between the comfort of solitude and the uncertain promise.
What Day Are We In? (Palestine/Spain/Germany/Qatar) by Hussein Zuhour, amid the devastation of war, an actor from Gaza documents his 471-day journey of survival.
When The News Breaks You (Qatar) by Hamad Salem Al-Hajri, a feature documentary about journalists working across the Middle East covering war zones and conflict areas.
Revolutionaries Never Die (Palestine/Qatar) by Mohanad Yaqubi, an archive-based dialogue between Jocelyne Saab and Yaqubi, as he restores her 1973–83 militant films.
Out of School (Morocco/Denmark/Qatar) by Hind Bensari, is set in a rocky mountain village cut off from secondary education, where Mohammed and Fatima face the abrupt end of school.
From Ground Zero + (Palestine/Jordan/France/Qatar) by Reema Mahmoud, Alaa Damo, I’timad Wishah, and Mostafa Al-Nabeeh, a project enabling a new generation of Gazan filmmakers.
MENA – Experimental/Essay – Post-Production
B.A.H.R Alphabet (Lebanon/Qatar) by Sabine El Chamaa, an essay film of musings on the Mediterranean Sea, its colours, smallest inhabitants, and the plastic on its shores.
MENA- TV Series- Development
Dirty Hands (Lebanon/Qatar) by Georges Hazim and Maya Dagher, a dark comedy, about four desperate housewives who jump at the chance to make some quick cash.
The Gate of Resurrection (Palestine/Qatar) by Firas Khoury, about a grief-stricken video editor, who secretly sabotages state TV to discover an underground assassin order.
Arab Love (Tunisia/Egypt/KSA/Qatar) by Nejib Belkadhi, in which a Tunisian steward and an Egyptian flight attendant fall in love online, testing whether love can survive the social media age.
MENA – Shorts - Narrative – Development
Nouria (Qatar) by Fatima Alnaemi is an animation about a seamstress Nouria, whose world is upended when a mysterious pigeon delivers a single golden thread, sparking a magical journey.
HADS (Qatar) by Aysha Alabdulla, about a young man who enters a surreal trial to pursue his dream of becoming a chef, but must first confront the fear of failure and self-doubt.
Akhir El-Saff (working title) (Qatar) by Maryam Al-Mohammed, a coming-of-age drama set in a 1990s girls’ school, where misfit Aljoury sets her sights on a strange, delicate circle of girls.
Qadr (Qatar) by Aisha Al-Khanji, is about a struggling Qatari café owner who clings to his failing business to escape judgment.
MENA – Shorts – Narrative – Production
A World of Donkeys (Qatar/Uzbekistan) by Majid Al-Remaihi, a short tale about loss of wit - seen through the persona of Juha (or Nasreddin Khoja), a wise fool of the global south - who returns to our time to realise he is without his lifetime companion, the donkey.
Ice-Cream (Qatar) by M.A Fakhroo, about Khaled, who finds himself stuck with his young sister Reem for the day, who badly wants ice cream.
To the North (Palestine/France/Qatar) by Amer Nasser follows Firas, who after a temporary ceasefire, returns to northern Gaza to retrieve his sister’s body from under the rubble.
The Line Between Us (Egypt/France/Qatar) by Hind Metwalli, a young woman who confronts the unspoken rules shaping her world, when a closely guarded secret threatens her future.
Aleppo Fresh (Jordan/Qatar) by Ghalia Haddad, when Sakher’s camel stops giving milk, he must choose between loyalty to his father and saving the creature that truly understood him.
There Are No Rabbits in Gaza (Jordan/Norway/Luxembourg/Egypt/Spain/Qatar) by Maram Soboh and Widad Shafakoj, is about Ahmed and Layla, who collect their daily meal in a Gaza camp.
A Woman Waiting (Morocco/Qatar) by Zahra Berrada, Samia waits as nearly 20,000 prisoners are granted a royal pardon. Among them, perhaps, is a man she once knew.
The Bombardment (Qatar) by Mahdi Ali Ali, a romance between a Palestinian man and a woman in Doha shatters when the distant war in Gaza erupts violently into their lives.
Mafar (Qatar) by Khalifa Al-Kuwari, is set decades in the future when the sun becomes a threat. A brother and his blind sibling seek shelter in an abandoned house.
Dino's Last Day (Algeria/France/Qatar) by Rayane Mcirdi, after forty years at the factory, Djamal, known as Dino, works his last shift. His wife and children plan a surprise outing.
MENA – Shorts – Narrative – Post-Production
Abu Fanoos (Qatar) by Amira Abujbara and Horia El Hadad is a fantasy set during a desert trip in Qatar, when an ageing grandfather seeks to protect his grandson from an eerie presence.
MENA – Shorts – Documentary –Production
Near - Far: On The Sea Road (working title) (Palestine/Qatar) by Fitnat Waked, a fragile friendship forms between two young Palestinian women - one in Yafa, one in Gaza.
Non-MENA - Feature Narrative – Post-Production
The Devil’s Wells (Chile/Argentina/Brazil/France/Qatar) by Jairo Boisier Olave, is set in a drought-stricken village, where 15-year-old Judith uses her gift for finding underground water.
My Semba (Angola/Qatar) by Hugo Salvaterra, is an ode to poetry, cinema, and music that explores survival, identity, and resilience in an African metropolis.
House of the Wind (Cameroon/France/Belgium/Benin/KSA/Qatar) by Auguste Kouemo Yanghu, in which 75-year-old Josette forms a bond that collapses her certainties about family.
Fuxi: Joy in Four Chapters (Hong Kong/Taiwan/Japan/France/Qatar) by Qiu Jiongjiong is set in a circus tent, a ragtag crew shoots four bizarre Sichuan tales spanning four millennia.
Filipiñana (Singapore/UK/Philippines/France/Netherlands/Qatar) by Rafael Manuel, is about tee-girl Isabel, who is strangely drawn to Dr. Palanca, president of the country club where she works.
Non-MENA – Feature Documentary – Post- Production
32 Meters (Iran/Qatar) by Morteza Atabaki, is set in a patriarchal village where Halime, defying tradition since childhood, joins her friend Gönül to unite women and spark a movement.
Anatomy of a Genocide (Norway/Sweden/Germany/Croatia/Qatar) by Torstein Grude, is an observational documentary following Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine.
The Language of Water (Venezuela/Dominican Republic/Peru/Qatar) by Jeissy Trompiz, in which Jofris, the last speaker of Venezuela’s Añunnükü language, flees to Maracaibo.
The Kartli Kingdom (Georgia/France/Qatar) by Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel, is set in a crumbling sanatorium in Tbilisi, where refugee families fight to hold onto their home.
American Doctor (USA/Palestine/Malaysia/Denmark/Qatar) by Poh Si Teng, is about three American doctors - Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian – who enter Gaza to save lives.
Images courtesy of DFI, used with permission.