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Over 150 Global Film Professionals to Discover and Support Promising Film Projects at Qumra 2022

Mar 09, 2022

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  • Film industry experts from around the world will prepare 45 projects helmed by emerging and established filmmakers for release and distribution
  • Experts from 35 nations to give selected film projects a competitive advantage through online mentoring sessions, screenings, and curated One-on-One meetings

Doha, Qatar; March 9, 2022: More than 150 film industry experts and decision-makers from across the lifecycle of filmmaking, from scriptwriting to post-production and sales and marketing, will converge online to discover and accelerate the progress of 45 projects by emerging and established filmmakers in the eighth edition of Qumra, the Doha Film Institute’s celebrated annual film industry event.

To be delivered online from March 18 to 23, Qumra 2022 is the region’s key film development initiative that brings together the global film industry to discover exciting new talent and enable emerging filmmakers to realise their cinematic aspirations of reaching global audiences. The 2022 edition’s 45 projects include 28 features, 6 series, and 11 short film projects, with six narrative and documentary features from Qatar.

Industry professionals from 35 countries will advance the selected Qumra projects through two streams: The first in tutorials, workshops, consultations, and virtual meetings for projects in development; and the second comprised of work-in-progress screenings and feedback sessions for projects in post-production. Inclusion of series for VoD and online platforms extends support of the script-to-screen journey to enable filmmakers to take their projects beyond conventional platforms to a wider audience.

This year’s acclaimed directors, producers, writers, film festival representatives, fund managers, distributors, digital platforms and broadcasters, and expert consultants, sales and acquisition heads are part of the Doha Film Institute’s expansive network of professionals that gather in Qatar at Qumra each year to celebrate a shared vision to discover and empower emerging film talent.

Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, said: “Qumra 2022 continues to serve its founding mission of creating a seamless journey from script-to-screen and beyond for exceptional talent from around the world. As the region’s premier film industry hub, it continues to identify and promote brave voices in cinema in sharing compelling stories with universal resonance. Our innovative online format will ensure that all our participants and industry contributors will emerge at the end of their week with advanced knowledge, fresh opportunities, and exciting potential for the international success of the projects. We are grateful for the commitment and enduring relationships we have with our industry professionals, and for their important contribution to a diverse and vibrant film industry.”

Project Mentors and Consultants:

This year’s Qumra project Mentors include DFI Artistic Advisor and filmmaker Elia Suleiman and internationally acclaimed filmmakers Kamal Aljafari, Rithy Panh, Ghassan Salhab, Tala Hadid, Talal Derki, and Annemarie Jacir.

Among the 2022 Qumra feature projects Consultants are film festival executives Paolo Bertolin and Violeta Bava; editors Benjamin Mirguet and Alex Bush; ; sales executives Gabor Greiner, Aranka Matits and Martina Droandi; scriptwriters Joelle Touma, Britta Krause and Antoine Waked; producers Joslyn Barnes, Didar Domeri, Catherine Dussart and Dora Bouchoucha; project coaches Matthieu Darras, Zsuzsi Bankuti and Teresa Cavina; post production expert Konstantina Staurianou, sound expert Severin Favrieau, VOD experts Kevin Chan, Ava Striker and Pierre Alexandre Labelle and documentary consultants Brigid O’Shea, Jihan Al Tahri and Bob Moore.

Series mentors include Ryan O’nan, Bassem Breche, Gabriele Capolino, Frédéric Pittoors D’haveskercke, Neerja Narayana and Marike Muselaers.

Shorts mentors include Laurent Crouzeix, Ben Thompson, Alice Kharoubi, Wouter Jansen, Camille Hebert Benazet, Wim Vanacker, Ayman el Amir, Karim Aitouna and Flavio Armone.

Production Guests:

Production professionals taking meetings at Qumra 2022 include Eric Frazier, Creative Executive at Miramax; Mohamed Hefzy, Founding Director of Film Clinic; Marc Lorber, SVP International TV Co-productions & Acquisitions for Lionsgate TV; Thanasis Karathanos, Producer at Pallas Film; Georges Schoucair, CEO at Abbout Productions; Jason Kliot, Vice President and Executive Producer at Open City Films; Nicolas Celis, CEO at Pimienta Films; Rita Dagher, CEO at Senorita Films; Ewa Puscynszka, CEO at Opus Films; and Thierry Lenouvel, CEO at Cine Sud Promotion.

Festival Guests:

Representatives from more than 50 leading international film festivals will participate in work in progress feedback panels for projects in post-production and industry roundtables from Berlinale, Venice, Cannes, Locarno, Tribeca, Toronto, Sarajevo, Sundance, Karlovy Vary, Hot Docs, Dok Leipzig, BUSAN, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Visions du Reel, Cairo, Marrakech and others.

Sales and Distribution Guests

Also participating in project feedback panel discussion and industry roundtables are international sales and distribution representatives from Alphaviolet, Autlook Filmsales, Bac Films, Best Friends Forever, LightDox, Dogwoof, Elle Driver, Films Boutique, Hauts et courts, Heretic, Indie Sales, Jour2fetes, Luxbox, Memento International, Syndicado, New Europe Film Sales, UDI, Wild Bunch, and The Match factory, among others.

Regional distributors include Film Clinic, Front Row Entertainment, Metropolis Art Cinema, MAD Solutions and Moving Turtle.

Additional Industry Guests

Participating international film institutes and funds include Sundance Institute, Academy Museum, Film Independent, Royal Film Commission Jordan, Eurimages, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), Hubert Bals Fund, Metaphora productions, Medienboard, MIBACT, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), Luxembourg Film Fund, Sorfond, Story for Impact, Beirut DC and Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Tunisie.

In the Institute’s newest stream of support for Arab creativity, Qumra 2022 will present the third edition of Qumra Series to explore the development of series format projects from the region. Prominent leaders in serialised content and drama series markets such as Miramax, AMC Networks, Lumiere, The Gotham, and European Film Market – Drama Series Days, will be participating. International streaming and broadcasting participants include, Mubi, Tubi, HBO Max, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Vimeo, and Under The Milky Way.

Qatar-based organisations include Al Jazeera Media Network, beIN Media Group, Katara Studios, Qatar TV, Al Jazeera Children Channel, The Edge Picture Company and The Film House.