The Doha Film Festival announced its international feature narrative and documentary lineup on Sunday, October 11, 2026, featuring 15 distinct global cinematic works competing across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas for a prize pool totaling $185,000 USD.
Festival Highlights and Funding Structure
- Female Directors: The competitive roster highlights seven films directed by women, reinforcing independent cinema’s expansive geographical scope.
- Prize Breakdown: An international jury of five professionals will award $75,000 for Best Narrative Feature, $50,000 for Best Documentary, $45,000 for Best Artistic Achievement, and $15,000 for Best Acting Performance, alongside a FIPRESCI prize.
The Palestinian Cinema Showcase in Doha
Four powerful Palestinian titles anchor the international competition slate, bringing urgent geopolitical narratives and deeply intimate human stories to the Gulf. Among them is Thirteen in Gaza (Palestine/Qatar) by director Hussam Abu Dan, which follows a 13-year-old boy navigating displacement, the loss of his mother, and early maturity inside a Gazan refugee camp. Shot entirely on location under active wartime conditions, the feature earned the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film is Abu Dan’s feature narrative debut and explores the challenges faced by his father in the black market.
Alongside it, Sama (Palestine/France/Qatar) by director Rabab Khamis stages its world premiere in Doha, charting the daily struggles of a ten-year-old girl collecting plastic and cardboard in Deir al-Balah to support her family. Moayyad Alayan’s A Dialogue with the Sea (Palestine/Netherlands/Saudi Arabia/Qatar) makes its Middle East and North Africa debut after premiering at the Venice Film Festival and screening in Toronto. The narrative follows a 60-year-old Jerusalem resident named Kamal ordered by an Israeli court to pay a massive social security debt incurred by his son, who allegedly drowned in the Red Sea two decades prior. Rounding out the quartet, Mohanad Yaqubi’s Thersites Never Die (Palestine/Belgium/Qatar) responds to a final email sent by late Lebanese filmmaker Jocelyne Saab in October 2018, utilizing 113 preserved film reels to secure a Special Jury Prize in Locarno’s Filmmakers of the Present competition.
Global Competitors and Regional Voices
The 15-film competition extends far beyond the Middle East, weaving together transnational productions that premiered at elite global festivals. Tala Hadid’s Bardie (Morocco/France/United States/Qatar) enters the race after serving as a centerpiece in the Currents section at the New York Film Festival. The documentary explores traditional Moroccan equestrian heritage through “Tbourida,” transforming everyday farmers and laborers into mounted warriors.
The ancient equestrian display involves synchronized gunpowder discharges and traditional regalia, offering a window into rural community structures and collective memory. Meanwhile, regional and international co-productions like Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s Nine Temples to Heaven (Thailand/Singapore/France/Norway/China/Hong Kong/Indonesia/Qatar) compete after winning the feature competition at the International Film Festival Innsbruck, tracking a family visiting nine temples in a single day to preserve their grandmother’s life.
Opening Night and Festival Directives
Setting the tone for the nine-day event, the festival opens with the Yemeni documentary The Station, directed by Scottish-Yemeni filmmaker Sara Ishaq. The film centers on an all-women petrol station in Yemen that transforms into a vital sanctuary for solidarity and survival amid regional conflict.
| Award Category | Prize Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | $75,000 |
| Best Documentary Feature | $50,000 |
| Best Artistic Achievement | $45,000 |
| Best Acting Performance | $15,000 |
The festival has a strong international jury, feedback from FIPRESCI critics, and a lineup funded significantly by DFI grants, cementing Doha's position as a leading incubator for independent world cinema.
