(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Doha: Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced the 2020 edition of Qumra, DFI's annual talent incubator for emerging global talent which marks its sixth year, will go online after it was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
'In light of COVID-19, our team came up with solutions that will ensure the 46 selected Qumra projects receive the mentorship and value added support. Announcing 'Qumra 2020 - The Online Edition, DFI has tweeted.
DFI said the alternative mentorship programme will take place online from March 20 to 25 as originally planned, during which all 46 projects will have their scheduled one-on-one sessions. In a statement, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of DFI, said 'Qumra is an extremely important event for our community and participants, and the 46 selected projects remain a priority for DFI this year. To maintain the current momentum towards success for the projects, the Institute will proceed with an adapted online mentorship and support format to generate opportunities for the filmmakers through this period of new challenges. This abridged version of the Qumra catalogue highlights the 46 projects that will benefit from this innovative solution.
All industry guests will receive the project catalogue, delegates contact list, as well as the match-made suggestions and will be invited to connect online. Furthermore, festival programmers, sales agents and distributors will have exclusive access until the end of this month to the 20-min excerpts of the work-in-progress projects in postproduction, preceded by a video introduction by the filmmakers.
Yesterday, DFI announced via Twitter the four feature documentary projects currently in the development phase which will receive online consultations this week. These include 'The Flower Men (Yemen, Qatar) by Yousra Ishaq, 'Kashkash (Lebanon, Germany, Qatar) by Lea Najjar, 'Machtat (Tunisia, France, Leabanon, Qatar) by Sonia Ben Slama, and 'Searching for Kikhia (Libya, Lebanon, Qatar) by Jihan Kikhia.
'The Institute is extremely grateful to our Qumra Masters, filmmakers and industry participants for their ongoing passion and contribution to our commitment to reshape the global storytelling landscape and empower emerging voices to create cinema, to exercise creative expression, and to transform inspired stories into acclaimed masterpieces. The evolution of storytelling has expanded the scope and expression of ideas and influence, and we hope this 'Online Qumra will be a successful extension of our ongoing passion and commitment to supporting emerging voices in global filmmaking, said Alremaihi.
Qumra 2020 programme includes 46 projects from 20 countries, of which 20 are by Qatar-based talents, including 12 by Qatari nationals. Seven of the projects were in development, with others in the Qumra Series and Shorts programmes. Of the 46 projects, 33 are recipients of DFI's Grants programme, three are supported through the Qatari Film Fund and one through the Institute's co-financing programme.
MENAFN2103202000630000ID1099890276
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.