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• Seven international feature films including Majid Majidi’s acclaimed Sun Children screened in-person as part of Ajyal public programme
• Two programmes of captivating short films from across the world including I am Afraid to Forget Your Face, the second ever Arab film supported by DFI to win the Palme d’Or for Short Films at the recently concluded 2020 Cannes Film Festival special edition
• Two-part ‘Made in Qatar’ programme of shorts highlights emerging Qatari talents and those who call Qatar home

Doha, Qatar; November 15, 2020: The 8th Ajyal Film Festival presented by the Doha Film Institute will be offering local film lovers a safe big screen cinema experience with an exciting selection of feature films and acclaimed shorts screening at VOX Cinemas, Doha Festival City between 19 – 23 November.

Part of the in-person events portion of the first-ever hybrid edition of the Ajyal Film Festival, audiences are invited to enjoy transformative cinematic experiences in a safe environment that follows health guidelines set by the government. All feature films and short film programmes are priced at 60 QAR for regular seating & 90 QAR for premium seating.

Feature films from the 2020 Ajyal Film Festival programme presented at VOX Cinemas, Doha Festival City include:

• Sun Children (Iran/2020) by Majid Majidi, which made its debut at the 77th Venice International Film Festival earlier this year, presents the captivating story of 12-year-old Ali and his three friends who work hard to survive on the streets of Tehran. The screening will take place at 5.30 PM on Thursday, 19 November.
• Winner of the Panorama Audience Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Father (Serbia, France, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina/2020) by Srdan Golubović is a family drama about corruption and the fight for family reunification. It will screen at 8.30 PM on Thursday, 19 November.
• In 200 Meters (Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Italy, Sweden/2020) by Ameen Nayfeh, A 200-metre distance becomes a 200-kilometre odyssey as a father tries to reach his son. Following its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival this year, the film won the Audience Prize at Venice Days. The screening will take place at 5.30 PM on Friday, 20 November, and at 8.30 PM on Monday, 23 November.
• Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Drama at the Sundance Film Festival, Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness (France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Lebanon, Iran/2019) by Massoud Bakhshi follows a young Iranian woman, sentenced to death for murdering her much older husband. It will screen at 8.30 PM on Friday, 20 November.
• I Am Greta (Sweden/2020) by Nathan Grossman features the story of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and is screening at 2.30 PM on Saturday, 21 November.
• • Winner of the Grand Prize of the Jury KPlus at the Berlin International Film Festival, The Wolves (Mexico/2019) by Samuel Kishi Leopo follows immigrant siblings who let their imaginations run wild as they dream of going to Disneyland one day. The screening will take place at 5.30 PM on Saturday, 21 November.
• Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (Japan/2020) by Tomohisa Taguchi is about Tai and Agumon who are forced to risk everything in their epic final adventure. It screens at 8.30 PM on Saturday, 21 November.

Short films from the 2020 Ajyal Film Festival programme presented at VOX Cinemas, Doha Festival City include:

Screening at 8.30 PM on Sunday, 22 November, the Ajyal at VOX Cinemas Shorts Programme 1 open to 18+ audiences includes: Apfelmus (Austria/2019) by Alexander Gratzer depicts philosophical dialogues between humans and animals on the important things in life such as freedom, existence and… apple sauce; I am Afraid to Forget Your Face (Egypt, France, Qatar, Belgium/2020) by Sameh Alaa in which, after being separated for 82 days, Adam travels down a rough road to be reunited with the one he loves; Family Plot (Japan/2019) by Shuichi Okita is comical Japanese short in which a would-be Wi-Fi thief gets much more than he bargained for; in Mascot (South Korea/2019) by Kim Leeha, a determined fox pursues his dream of becoming a city mascot; We Have One Heart (Poland/2020) by Katarzyna Warzecha follows Adam who uncovers an extraordinary family secret when he comes across some letters his parents exchanged years ago; in En Route (The Netherlands/2019) by Marit Weerheijm, nine-year-old Inay and her little brother try everything they can to cause a delay on a special family trip through the city; and Nightshift (Egypt/2020) by Karim Shaaban is about Zein, an employee at a call centre, who receives a call from a disgruntled customer that may keep him awake for months.

Screening at 5.30 PM on Monday, 23 November, Ajyal at VOX Cinemas Shorts Programme 2 is open to 18+ audiences and features: How My Grandmother Became a Chair (Germany, Lebanon, Qatar/2020); David (USA/2020) by Zach Woods is about a severely depressed man that reaches out for an emergency therapy session – but he is not the only one who needs help; The Present (Palestine, Qatar/2019) by Farah Nabulsi is about Yusef and his young daughter setting out in the West Bank to buy his wife an anniversary gift – a seemingly simple task; in The Best Orchestra in the World (Austria/2020) by Henning Backhaus, a talented sock named Ingbert applies for a position as a double bass player at the illustrious Vienna State Orchestra, but not everyone wishes him well; The School Bus (Turkey/2019) by Ramazan Kılıç follows a young teacher in a rural village school in Anatolia, who requests a new school bus just to discover there is one small problem; The Visit (Iran/2019) by Azadeh Moussavi follows Elahe’s visit to her political prisoner husband; and Napo (Brazil/2020) by Gustavo Ribeiro about a young boy who reinterprets old family photographs into new drawings, and helps his grandfather relive lost memories.

Returning with an exciting selection of 16 DFI-supported short form narratives and documentaries from emerging Qatari talents and those who call Qatar home, Made in Qatar will screen at VOX Cinemas in two parts. Programme 1 will screen at 2.30 PM on Friday, 20 November, followed by Programme 2 screening at 5.30 PM on Sunday, 22 November.

For a full listing of screenings and to buy your tickets now, visit the VOX Cinemas website.

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.