More than one hundred leading film industry professionals are expected to participate in the first edition of Qumra, a new event dedicated to the development of emerging filmmakers from Qatar and around the world.

The event takes place from March 6 to 11 in Doha, Qatar

Twenty-nine projects at various stages of production have been selected to benefit from the experience of international film industry professionals in mentorship labs and meetings designed to propel their projects to the next stage.

More than 100 delegates from all facets of the film industry will participate in the programme including representatives from international film festivals, funding bodies, sales, production and distribution companies along with development specialists and script consultants.

The event will feature two components of the film industry: projects in development will participate in group and individual sessions for legal, sales, marketing, production and script consultations along with one-on-one match-made meetings, while projects in post-production will participate in a series of rough-cut and work-in-progress screenings and feedback sessions which will present excerpts of their projects, in many cases for the first time.

Doha Film Institute CEO, Fatma Al Remaihi said: “The projects selected for Qumra are by filmmakers we have worked very closely with over time through our grants and development programmes. We are in a unique position to catalyse their work to the next stage through this intensive programme which has been designed with each of their individual needs in mind.”

“I am extremely encouraged by the support that has been shown by film professionals from all sectors of the industry for the first edition of Qumra. Their immense generosity towards the new generation of filmmakers is invaluable and I am certain that the connections formed over the coming weeks will resonate far into the future for all of the participants.


Regional content will be in focus through an industry panel presented by Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) on March 9th, building on the work undertaken in partnership with the Doha Film Institute last year through a comprehensive pan-Arab survey, ‘Entertainment Media Use in the Middle East’.

The panel, ‘Meeting the Demand for Regional Content’, is a special session of the NU-Q Qatar Media Industries Forum, a bi-annual gathering of industry leaders. It will use the findings of the study as a basis to consider issues around the demand for more film and entertainment content from and about the Arab world and explore the most innovative ways that local content producers are connecting to regional audiences within or around the existing media ecosystem.

One hundred and fifty Qatar-based film, media and entertainment delegates will also participate in the programme. – TradeArabia News Service