Doha, Qatar: The Doha Film Festival (DFF) has revealed the full line-up for its International Feature Film Competition, featuring 13 titles from across five continents that explore themes ranging from ecological collapse to war displacement and identity.
Organisers said the section reflects the festival's commitment to championing bold, diverse voices in world cinema, particularly from underrepresented regions.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute (DFI), said the festival was "honoured to amplify a diverse range of voices that will inspire change around the world". She added that the selected films "represent the creativity and resilience of humanity" and demonstrate cinema's ability "to shape the future of our societies".
Among the highlights of this year's competition is Khartoum (Sudan/UK/Germany/Qatar), a documentary by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim "Snoopy" Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed and Philip Cox, which follows five Khartoum residents displaced by war as they navigate loss and hope.
Other selections include Cotton Queen (Sudan/Germany/France/Palestine/Egypt/Qatar) by Suzannah Mirghani, which blends ecological critique with a coming-of-age story; and Once Upon a Time in Gaza (Palestine/France/Germany/Portugal/Qatar) by Tarzan and Arab Nasser, set in 2007 and centred on three lives entangled in violence and revenge.
With Hassan in Gaza (Germany/Palestine/France/Qatar) by Kamal Aljafari offers a meditative reflection on memory and loss, while The President's Cake (Iraq/USA/Qatar) by Hasan Hadi tells the story of a young girl's resourcefulness under Saddam Hussein's rule.
Other international contenders include: My Father and Qaddafi (Libya/Lebanon/Qatar) by Jihan K, a personal search for truth and closure amid Libya’s political past; Renoir (Japan/France/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia/Qatar) by Chie Hayakawa, a tender family drama set in 1980s Tokyo; and Sleepless City (Spain/France/Qatar) by Guillermo Garcia Lopez, exploring friendship and identity in the outskirts of Madrid. The list also includes The Last Shore (Belgium/France/Qatar) by Jean-Francois Ravagnan, revisiting the real-life drowning of a young Gambian migrant in Venice; The Reserve (Mexico/Qatar) by Pablo Perez Lombardini, a tense drama about community resistance and environmental defence; Divine Comedy (Iran/Italy/France/Germany/Turkey) by Ali Asgari, following a filmmaker’s underground struggle to screen his work; Hair, Paper, Water (Belgium/France/Vietnam) by Truong Minh Quý and Nicolas Graux, a lyrical portrait of an elderly woman preserving her endangered language; and Blue Heron (Canada/Hungary) by Sophy Romvari, portraying a Hungarian immigrant family’s turbulent adjustment to life in Canada.
Running from November 20 to 28, 2025, the Doha Film Festival marks a major new chapter in DFI’s mission to nurture regional talent and spotlight urgent global stories.
The event's partners include Katara, Media City Qatar, Film Committee, and Visit Qatar. Venues such as Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb Downtown Doha, and the Museum of Islamic Art will be transformed into hubs of cultural exchange, welcoming filmmakers and audiences from around the world.
Festival organisers said the event aims to celebrate the power of art "to inspire, unite, and deepen understanding" through a wide selection of films, discussions and community events.
