(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Minister of Culture & Sports, H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali alongside nine European ambassadors and embassy representatives in Qatar, inaugurated the ‘The European Drive-In Film Festival' yesterday at the Doha Festival City. The festival will run until November 28. Tickets for the event are already sold out, according to organisers. Ambassadors in attendance were Ambassador of Austria H E Karin Fichtinger-Grohe, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Belgium Céline Ganseman, Ambassador of Italy H E Alessandro Prunas, Ambassador of Germany H E Dr. Claudius Fischbach, Ambassador of Sweden H E Anders Bengtcén, Second Secretary of Embassy of the Netherlands Ilyaas Sherally, Ambassador of Portugal H E António Alves de Carvalho, and Ambassador of Switzerland H E Edgar Dörig. Also present was Assistant General Manager of Bawabat Al Shamal Real Estate Company Jihad Zarkout, and General Business Manager of Nestlé Qatar Zaher Abou Khamis. Swedish envoy, H E Anders Bengtcén said: 'The European Drive-in Film Festival comes just a few days after the successful Ajyal Film Festival.
This means that November will be the month of Film Festivals here in Doha. We are proud to be part of this community effort to bring quality films to the Qatari public. Culture plays a fundamental role in the relations between people and countries, breaching communication, and building integrated communities to support openness and mutual understanding. 'During the next three evenings, films from nine European countries will be shown representing part of the vibrant and dynamic film culture and industry in Europe.
The selected films represent a broad spectrum of themes and subjects. We hope that audiences at this festival will enjoy the festival. I thank H E, the minister, for his support, he added. Guests can watch the movies in an outdoor venue with a large screen as each day will host three screenings. The films lined up for the festival include The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (Sweden), Brothers Of The Wind (Austria); Les Chevaliers Blancs (Belgium); Po Strnisti Bos (Czechia); Gundermann (Germany); Quanto Basta (Italy); Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet (The Netherlands); A Mae E Que Sabe (Portugal); and I'Apollon De Gaza (Switzerland).
The envoys emphasized the importance of arts, especially with the current coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on preventing its spread. The German ambassador said: 'Coronavirsu has had a huge impact on culture and cultural events that would have normally taken place. The COVID-19 has shown us how important cultural events are for our emotional wellbeing. I thank the Swedish embassy for spearheading this event. DHFC Assistant GM Jihad Zarkout said: 'Thank you to all the ambassadors for making this one-of-a-kind Film Festival happen in Qatar.
Qatar is a destination that holds an incredible diversity of cultures, languages, and arts coming from across the world. We can discover a new cultural experience here every day, which makes this wonderful country so unique. The European Drive-In Film Festival is one of the largest and most impressive cultural projects globally, unifying a multitude of cultures and cinematographic talents. 'After so many months of limited activities, Qatar's community was very much in need for such a joyful gathering, and the European Drive-In Film Festival came just at the right time.
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