Women are the main recipients of the The Doha Film Institute’s latest round of grants, the organisation announced on Tuesday. The DFI will provide grants for 29 film projects from 16 countries. Nineteen of the films are by directors who are women, or focus on a female protagonist. The majority of projects are from the Arab world.
“Stories of hope, self-discovery, women empowerment, tales of family life and of life in conflict zones are highlighted in the selections this spring,” said Fatma Al Remaihi, the chief executive officer of DFI.
“This year’s [Spring Grants 2017] projects are even more special for the large representation of women directors as well as themes that focus on coming-of-age stories of central female characters.”
The topics range from personal growth — such as Amal, a documentary about an angry Egyptian teenager seeking her place in a male-dominated society, or Ava, a feature film about an Iranian teenager who challenges her strict upbringing — to domestic narratives, animation and experimental storytelling.
Four projects each come from Algeria and Egypt, three from Tunisia and two each from Lebanon, Iran, Morocco, and Palestine. One project each comes from Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Portugal, Somalia, Syria, France and Indonesia.
The list includes 14 feature-length narrative films, eight documentaries, two experimental or essay films and five short films.
The DFI grants programme, now in its 14th round, aims to support new voices regionally and globally. Submissions for the next funding round will open on July 18 and close on July 31. Grants are available for first- and second-time filmmakers around the world, with an emphasis on the Mena region. Post-production funding is also available for established filmmakers.
