(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Doha: 9th Ajyal Film Festival directors have urged young and aspiring filmmakers to be honest and authentic in their storytelling and to identify subjects that resonate with global audiences.
Short filmmakers for this year's festival also added that is it not about the length of the film but how you can weave in a story, and the filmmaker should leave the movie open for audience's interpretation.
Joan Gratz, director of“No Leaders Please” (USA/2020) said making her film was easy.“Its form was explicit as I tried to interpret the message from his poems through artists, many of whom have evolved to become politically very active.” Her film is an eloquently animated film based on a poem about self-discovery and reinvention by Charles Bukowski.
Director of“Night” (Germany, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine/2021) Ahmed Saleh disclosed that it was a personal mission of many years to bring to screen his short film.“It is an integration of reality with surrealism and with the help of these two realms, I try to convey my story in a short period of time,” he explained.
“Night” by Ahmad Saleh
Meanwhile, Ako Salemi said he did not have a clear intent when pursuing his film“Shadegan” (Iran/2020). It is a story about the day in the life of a 12-year-old fisherman on his boat in Shadegan Pond, Iran, which is the boy's second home and his family's livelihood. He said it could have been a feature or even much shorter than its 15-minute duration, but he discovered the right length as he assimilated the footage to create a compelling narrative.
“Shadegan” by Ako Salemi
Director Eliza Płocieniak-Alvarez went on a personal journey to create the film“My Name is Fear” (Germany/2021), when she was pregnant. She was reading extensively at that time, which led to creating the short film centered on the emotion of fear that lives in your head. She explores if you can become friends with fear with the film, which gained great appreciation among the young Ajyal Jurors.“They were asking so many smart, important questions,” she said. Her starting point of the film was her research on the subject of emotions.“You eventually create a film that is authentic but you can never be sure how it will be understood, which is a good thing. We make short films and leave it to the audience for their interpretation.”
“My Name is Fear” by Eliza Płocieniak-Alvarez
The seven-day Ajyal Film Festival carried the theme“Press Play!”. It featured a diverse mix of virtual and in-person events including film screenings, interactive discussions, multi-media art exhibit, Qatar's largest pop-culture event Geekdom, and a drive-in cinema.
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