The global displacement crisis is the central theme of movies and Ajyal Talks today at the fourth Ajyal Youth Film Festival at Katara.
Khaled Khalifa, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Regional Representative to the States of the Gulf Co-Operation Council, will lead a discussion on the current global displacement crisis with a focus on the situation of Syrian refugees, at 7pm at Katara Opera House,
The discussion on ‘Why Refugees Matter’ is free and follows the screening of Born in Syria at 5pm at the Katara Drama Theatre. Directed by Hernán Zin, it follows seven young refugees over the course of a year, witnessing everything from their escape from their homeland, their experiences in camps in the Middle East, their arrival in the “promised land” of Europe, and the settling into their new homes.
At 9pm, watch Fire at Sea, the winner of the Golden Bear at Berlinale, a compelling documentary set in the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa on the first stop on the migrant route from Africa to Europe for about 400,000 people, a great number of whom died trying to make the perilous crossing.
Also watch a film that affirms the joy of life with Listen to the Silence by Mariam Chachia to screen at 8.30pm at Katara 12 – Theatre A. In Midnight Screenings, watch The Girl with All the Gifts directed by Colm McCarthy, at 11pm at Katara Drama Theatre.
A captivating collection of short films in all the three Ajyal Competition categories – Mohaq, Hilal and Bader – will be screening, offering the opportunity to watch insightful films from across the world including short narratives by Qatari filmmakers. These screenings are free for the public.
In the Bader Shorts 2 programme to screen at 9.15pm at Katara 12 – Theatre B, watch Ely Dagher’s Palme d’Or-winning Waves ’98; In The Waiting Room by Qatari filmmaker Hend Fakhroo; Dry Hot Summers by Sherif Elbendary A New Home by
