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• Festival opens with Sun Children by acclaimed director Majid Majidi
• 24 films at Ajyal supported by the Doha Film Institute including 2020 festival favourite 200 meters
• Qatar audiences can access films online from the comfort of their homes and attend in person screenings at the new Drive-In Cinema at Lusail and Select Programme on Offer at VOX Cinemas Doha Festival City

Doha, Qatar; November 09 2020: The Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) presents the 8th Ajyal Film Festival in a first-ever hybrid format from 18-23 November. The Festival will open with acclaimed director Majid Majidi’s Sun Children (Iran/2020), which debuted at Venice Film Festival earlier this year.

Centring around the issue of child labour, Sun Children illustrates the resiliency and creativity of youth, which when nurtured brings lasting social change and creates the great innovators and problem-solvers of tomorrow.

DFI is proud to have supported 24 films at the Festival in its programmes, including Grants, Co-Financing, Qatari Film Fund and mentorship through our labs and workshops. These include: 200 Meters, Unusual Summer, Gevar’s Land, Their Algeria, among others.

This year’s public film programme builds on Ajyal’s strong reputation for curating the best in international cinema with a line-up of 80 films from 46 countries including 22 features and 50 shorts, 31 by incredible Arab filmmakers and 30 helmed by extraordinary women directors.

The spirit of Ajyal is about bringing communities together, and the challenges of this year have opened exciting new opportunities to bring even more people together in the communal cinema experience beyond physical attendance. With the safety of all participants in mind, film screenings can be enjoyed via a mix of DFI’s online streaming platform, at in-person screenings at VOX Cinemas Doha Festival City and the exciting new Drive-In Cinema experience at Lusail in partnership with Qatar National Tourism Council. Expanding our audiences beyond Qatar borders, various countries in the MENA region will also have access to a select lineup of Festival films online.

2020 Ajyal Film Festival’s Official Partners include: Katara Cultural Village Foundation – Cultural Partner; Qatar National Tourism Council – Principal Partner; Novo Cinemas, Ooredoo – Strategic Partner, Msheireb Properties, Lusail, Qatari Diar – Signature Sponsors.