Doha Film Festival 2025 honours global storytellers, emerging talent

Doha, Qatar: Doha Film Festival, presented by Doha Film Institute (DFI), announced the winners of its competition programmes at the closing ceremony f...

Doha, Qatar: Doha Film Festival, presented by Doha Film Institute (DFI), announced the winners of its competition programmes at the closing ceremony following a week of film screenings, inspiring conversations and engaging events.

The ceremony was attended by Chairman of Qatar Fund for Development and DFI Board Member H E Sheikh Thani bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani; Minister of State and President of Qatar National Library H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari; Chairman, Media City Qatar H E Sheikh Dr. Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani; Managing Director, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy H E Hassan Al Thawadi; CEO Qatar Museums, Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi; CEO Visit Qatar Eng. Abdulaziz Al-Mawlawi;  Member of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums, Abdulla Al Najjar; and Chief Executive Officer of Media City Qatar Eng. Jassim Mohamed Al-Khori, among others.

Hosted by Sudanese filmmaker and presenter Amjad Al Noor and Syrian-American comedian Nasser Al-Rayes, the event brought together filmmakers, industry professionals and cultural leaders from across the world including Saleh Bakri, Kamal AlJafari, Saja Kilani, Misan Harriman, Elia Suleiman, Brigitte Lacombe, Rithy Panh, Dhafer L’Abidine among others.

Addressing the ceremony, Festival Director and CEO of DFI  Fatma Hassan Alremaihi said: “As we close the curtain on this edition of Doha Film Festival, we reaffirm Qatar’s enduring commitment to championing new voices and bold storytelling. This festival is a promisethat creativity will always have a space, that diverse voices will always be heard, and that Qatar will continue to open its doors to artists shaping a connected and compassionate world. Every story shared here has reminded us that film is one of humanity’s greatest bridges connecting us beyond borders, backgrounds and differences to push our collective vision forward.”

Winners of the International Feature Film Competition include Special Mention: The Reserve by Pablo Pérez Lombardini; Best Performance Award: shared by Majd Eid and Nader Abd Alhay (Once Upon a Time in Gaza); Best Artistic Achievement: shared by Kamal Al Jafari (With Hasan in Gaza) and Chie Hayakawa (Renoir); Best Documentary: My Father and Qaddafi by Jihan; and Best Narrative: Sleepless City by Guillermo Galoe.