Ajyal Film Festival 2024

Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Mohaq Best Feature Film

Poupelle of Chimney Town

Young Lubicchi lives in Chimney Town, a place where the sky is eternally grey due to the countless smokestacks that billow out soot into the air. Lubicchi’s father, who has mysteriously disappeared, used to tell him stories of blue skies and twinkling stars that lie above the thick layers of smog. One Halloween, Lubicchi meets a friendly monster made of garbage which he names Poupelle. Convinced that “if you believe, you’ll find a way”, Lubicchi and Poupelle, embark on a daring mission to discover a new world beyond the smoke

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Mohaq Best Short Film

Umbrellas

Directed by José Prats & Álvaro Robles

In a village where the rain never stops, young Kyna spends her days playing happily, protected under her father's umbrella beard. Until one night, her beloved dog Nana disappears.

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Hilal Best Feature Film

Captains of Zaatari

Directed by Ali El Arabi

After fleeing the war in Syria, best friends Mahmoud and Fawzi have spent the last five years in Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp. Though they both have little sense of what the future may hold for them, they focus their energy on their first love—soccer. Despite the dire circumstances in the camp, the pair practice daily, firmly believing that playing professional football is their ticket to freedom. When Aspire Academy, one of the world’s leading sports academies, arrives to pick players for an international tournament in Qatar, the friends seize their opportunity...

Hilal Best Short Film

Olayan

Directed by Khalifa Al-Marri

A Bedouin boy named Hamad forms a bond with a newborn camel, who he calls Olayan. When Olayan is later sold to market, young Hamad embarks on a mission to rescue his friend.

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Bader Best Feature Film

Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege

Directed by Abdallah Al-Khatib

Yarmouk in Damascus sheltered the largest Palestinian refugee camp in the world from 1957 to 2018. When the Syrian revolution broke out, Bashar Al-Assad’s regime saw Yarmouk as a refuge of rebels and resistance, besieging the camp from 2013 onwards. Gradually deprived of food, medicine and electricity, Yarmouk was cut off from the world. Filmmaker Abdallah Al-Khatib was born in Yarmouk, living there until his expulsion by Daesh, documenting the besieged inhabitants’ daily lives, who chose to face bombing, displacement and hunger with rallying, study, music, love and joy.

Bader Best Short Film

When Beirut was Beirut

Directed by Alessandra El Chanti

If these buildings could talk, what would they say? In this animated documentary, three of Beirut’s monumental buildings come to life and share their stories of Beirut’s unsettling history.

Bariq Best Short Film

Ink

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Ajyal Audience Award

Orca

Directed by Sahar Mossayebi

Elham, a divorced Iranian woman, survives a horrific beating at the hands of her husband. Haunted by the traumatic experience and seeking to rediscover herself, she finds solace and salvation in the open expanse of water. Courageous, determined and encouraged by her father, Elham soon makes her mark as a formidable endurance swimmer. In the fight of her life, Elham faces political, ideological, and personal obstacles in search of her ultimate goal—the Guinness world record for swimming the longest distance with her hands bound.

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Made in Qatar: Special Jury Mention

Virtual Voice

Directed by Suzannah Mirghani

A digital-savvy and satirical review of our online times. Meet Suzi doll, an ego-warrior marching to the algorithms of social media—another vacuous virtual voice, echoing injustices.

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Made in Qatar: Abdulaziz Jassim Award for Best Performance

Saleh Salem Al-Marri - From ‘Olayan’

A Bedouin boy named Hamad forms a bond with a newborn camel, who he calls Olayan. When Olayan is later sold to market, young Hamad embarks on a mission to rescue his friend.

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Made in Qatar: Best Narrative

Olayan

Directed by Khalifa Al-Marri

A Bedouin boy named Hamad forms a bond with a newborn camel, who he calls Olayan. When Olayan is later sold to market, young Hamad embarks on a mission to rescue his friend.

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Made in Qatar: Best Documentary

And Then They Burn the Sea

Directed by Majid Al-Remaihi

Filmmaker Majid Al-Remaihi ruminates on the experience of witnessing his mother’s gradual and terminal memory loss over the course of many years.

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