Doha: Five emerging talents with series projects in development applauded Qumra 2022, the annual talent incubator event of the Doha Film Institute (DFI), for reinforcing a strong foundation for series from the Arab world for global audiences.
This edition of Qumra is nurturing six series for multiple platforms, including video on demand and other streaming services. The selection of series reflects the continued evolution of Qumra to expand support in parallel with the latest trends in cinematic entertainment, in particular, with the growing demand for series.
Addressing the media on the first day of Qumra 2022, filmmakers were unanimous in their view that the series format helps ensure a wider reach for stories from the Arab world to global audiences.
Aisha Al Jaidah and Kholoud Al Ali put the spotlight on Qatar and its lost local lullabies through their series, Traditional Qatari Songs (Qatar). Traditional children’s songs in Qatar are fading away, and this project preserves such songs while integrating them with new beats that appeal to modern kids using the same colourful animation they adore and love. They have complied 13 lullabies including seasonal songs and those related to different occasions. They said DFI has provided excellent support in nurturing the series, as it had done for their earlier short films.
Meedo Taha, a Lebanese filmmaker and author interested in characters who dare to push social boundaries, said the support of DFI to his series project, Why Did the Bluesman Cross the Road? (USA, Qatar) is a testament to how far Qumra has gone in promoting international projects. “My series has two parts: One, how the public view Arab immigrants in the US, and two, how Arabs carry their culture no matter where they are.”
Writer-director Areej Mahmoud’s project Under This Roof (Lebanon, Qatar) presents a compelling premise – that of a frail, yet strong-willed, seventy-year-old woman, who tries to assassinate a presidential candidate and fails. Her story is intertwined with the stories of a journalist who sacrifices her career to bring out Samiya’s truth. Mahmoud said the Institute's support shows how Qatar is leading to empower new cinematic voices.
Mo Yusuf, the director of Out of My Mind (Qatar, Somalia, Djibouti) underlined the need to be authentic in storytelling, adding that his project reflects his own ambitions and inner transformation. He said it is important to write not without thought of audiences or other considerations.
Lina Lamara, a Franco-Algerian screenwriter and director, said her series, Day Off (France, Morocco, Qatar) follows different characters in different cities. “It is about how they find happiness during their day off, and explores the possibility of a day off being a break between what the society expects us to do and what we want to be.”
Highlighting that series helps connect with a global audience, Yossera Bouchtia, the director of Yasmine/Jasmine (Morocco, USA) said her series is a “real immigrant story; it is about the significance of connecting with one’s roots and one’s transformation. In that sense, it is really a universal story because many people grapple with the question of belonging.”
