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Ajyal Film Festival 2018


Download Ajyal 2018 Film Guide


Ajyal brings the best of cinema from around the world to Doha audiences, and films for families and every age group are on offer throughout the Festival. There’s a special focus on films made right here in Qatar; short films for children as young as 4; brilliant examples of animation, drama, and comedy; and heavy-hitting documentaries for the serious cinephile.

All Days

All Film Types

All Venues

All Interests

All Sections Ajyal Competition Ajyal Competition, Made in Qatar Ajyal Competition, Special Screening Made in Qatar Special Event Special Screening

  • Antouni

    Ajyal Competition

    A personal look at the effect of displacement, this film centres on Lori, a young girl who is t…

    Alik Tamar / Armenia, United States of America / 2017 / Short Narrative

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  • As My Father Was

    Ajyal Competition

    The story of Ali, a 12-year-old "Fili" Kurd who lives in Baghdad. After the fall of Saddam Huss…

    Muslim Habeeb / Iraq / 2018 / Short Documentary

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  • Bachir in Wonderland

    Ajyal Competition

    This absorbing documentary records a few weeks in the life of the stateless 10-year-old Saharan…

    Els Duran, Evelien Vehof / Netherlands / 2017 / Short Documentary

    Favourites

  • Bird Karma

    Ajyal Competition

    The fable-inspired ‘Bird Karma’ is the first hand-drawn animated film to be produced by DreamWo…

    William Salazar / United States of America / 2018 / Short Narrative

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  • Brotherhood

    Ajyal Competition

    Malik, an eighteen-year-old with flaming red hair, returns to his small village in Tunisia afte…

    Meryam Joobeur / Canada, Tunisia, Qatar, Sweden / 2018 / Short Narrative

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  • Capharnaüm

    Ajyal Competition

    ‘Capharnaüm’ retraces the journey of 12-year-old Zain, who decides to sue his parents for havin…

    Nadine Labaki / Lebanon / 2018 / Feature Narrative

    Favourites
    • Fri, Nov 30, 08:30 PM, K16-DT
    • Sat, Dec 1, 08:30 PM, NOV-P1
    • Sat, Dec 1, 09:00 PM, NOV-P2

  • Carlotta's Face

    Ajyal Competition

    When Carlotta looks in the mirror, she doesn’t recognise herself. She suffers from ‘Face Blindn…

    Valentin Riedl, Frédéric Schuld / Germany / 2018 / Short Documentary

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  • Central Airport THF

    Ajyal Competition

    Built in the 1920s and remodelled as an architectural showcase in the 1930s, Berlin Tempelhof A…

    Karim Aïnouz / Germany, France, Brazil / 2017 / Feature Documentary

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  • Changyou's Journey

    Ajyal Competition

    A bitter-sweet homage to the animator's eponymous late father. This well-crafted and endearing…

    Perry S. Chen / United States of America / 2017 / Short Documentary

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  • Commodity City

    Ajyal Competition

    A documentary exploring the daily lives of vendors who work in the largest wholesale consumer m…

    Jessica Kingdon / United States of America / 2016 / Short Documentary

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  • The Craft

    Ajyal Competition

    Envisaging international diplomacy as an alien conspiracy, ‘The Craft’ is a semi-autobiographic…

    Monira Al Qadiri / Kuwait, Lebanon / 2017 / Short Narrative

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  • Drop by Drop

    Ajyal Competition

    An eidolon-like animated documentary that is based on real-life interviews with people who were…

    Alexandra Ramires (Xá), Laura Gonçalves / Portugal / 2017 / Short Documentary

    Favourites

  • The Elephant's Song

    Ajyal Competition

    'The Elephant's Song' tells the true and tragic tale of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in A…

    Lynn Tomlinson / United States of America / 2018 / Short Narrative

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  • Flo

    Ajyal Competition

    One day a little flea makes a new friend, but their home is a strange place, and they must work…

    Nora Marie Back / Germany / 2017 / Short Narrative

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  • Forum Des Images - My Family Tree!

    Ajyal Competition

    The 'Bariq Short Film Programme' is accompanied by an abridged version of the ‘My Family Tree’…

    / / / Musical Performance

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  • Freedom Fields

    Ajyal Competition

    At the new dawn of a nation once cut off from the world, a dynamic group of women from fracture…

    Naziha Arebi / Libya, United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States of America, Qatar, Lebanon, Canada / 2018 / Feature Documentary

    Favourites
    • Wed, Nov 28, 07:00 PM, K16-OH
    • Wed, Nov 28, 07:00 PM, K16-DT
    • Thu, Nov 29, 08:30 PM, NOV-P1

  • Gummy Gas Crisis

    Ajyal Competition

    Gummy Gas Crisis tells the story of a space gasman, Ed, who must overcome various obstacles in…

    Rodrigo Díaz / Argentina / 2017 / Short Narrative

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  • The Hunt

    Ajyal Competition

    While on the way to the woods one day, a shortsighted but well-meaning hunter mistakes a rambun…

    Alexey Alekseev / France / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • I Don't Believe in You But Then There Is Gravity

    Ajyal Competition

    A comedic look at the daily lives of the residents of a high-rise building, as their typical Su…

    Umut Subaşı / Turkey / 2018 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Inanimate

    Ajyal Competition

    Katrine lives an ordinary life, with a regular job, in a typical city. Or at least that’s what…

    Lucia Bulgheroni / United Kingdom / 2018 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Killing Hope

    Ajyal Competition

    At the heart of a war-torn Aleppo, in the midst of the civil war, twenty-four-year-old Al-Basha…

    Natacha Grangeon, Julia Retali / France / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Last Stop Is the Moon

    Ajyal Competition

    A hauntingly beautiful story of a young girl as she is forced to come to terms with a tragic il…

    Birutė Sodeikaitė / Poland, Lithuania / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Leave No Trace

    Ajyal Competition

    A father and daughter live an isolated and reclusive life in Forest Park, an idyllic nature res…

    Debra Granik / United States of America / 2018 / Feature Narrative

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  • Negative Space

    Ajyal Competition

    Even though Sam’s father is often away on business trips, he is able to connect with his son by…

    Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata / France / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Next Door Spy

    Ajyal Competition

    Ten-year-old Agathe-Christine, or 'AC' as she prefers to be called, dreams of becoming a privat…

    Karla von Bengtson / Denmark / 2017 / Feature Narrative

    Favourites
    • Thu, Nov 29, 05:30 PM, NOV-P1
    • Sat, Dec 1, 04:30 PM, K12-B

  • The Night I Swam

    Ajyal Competition

    In the beautiful snow-covered mountains of Japan, a fisherman makes his daily trip to the marke…

    Damien Manivel, Kohei Igarashi / France, Japan / 2017 / Feature Narrative

    Favourites
    • Fri, Nov 30, 02:30 PM, NOV-P1
    • Sun, Dec 2, 04:00 PM, K16-OH

  • Odd Is an Egg

    Ajyal Competition

    A young boy named Odd is so concerned about crushing his fragile head that he is afraid to join…

    Kristin Ulseth / Norway, Portugal / 2016 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • An Old Lady Stepped Outside for Some Bread and Pastry

    Ajyal Competition

    Based on a poem by Anna Ignatova, this charming little animation is about how you never know wh…

    Anastasiya Jakulina / Russian Federation / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • On Happiness Road

    Ajyal Competition

    Following the death of her beloved grandmother, Chi returns home from America for the funeral.…

    Hsin-Yin Sung / Taiwan / 2017 / Feature Narrative

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  • Please Frog, Just One Sip

    Ajyal Competition

    It is a hot day in Africa, and Frog cannot stand the heat any longer. He takes a sip, but his t…

    Diek Grobler / South Africa / 2017 / Short Narrative

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  • Post No Bills

    Ajyal Competition

    The life of a street flyer can get pretty lonely from time to time, and on an urban city wall p…

    Robin Hays / Canada / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • The Price of Free

    Ajyal Competition

    'The Price of Free' follows the work of Nobel Peace Prize winner, and longtime crusader against…

    Derek Doneen / United States of America / 2018 / Feature Documentary

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  • Radiance

    Ajyal Competition

    'Radiance' is a short, semi-autobiographical animation that uses an exquisite, almost otherworl…

    Chialing Yang / United States of America / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Sabaku

    Ajyal Competition

    A short but endearing story about making new friends and finding acceptance, as a little bird n…

    Marlies van der Wel / Netherlands / 2016 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Siblings

    Ajyal Competition

    The children and youth featured in this thought-provoking and heartwarming documentary all have…

    James Michael Chiang / Canada / 2016 / Short Documentary

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  • Sirocco

    Ajyal Competition

    Exquisitely animated in black and white, 'Sirocco' is set on the picturesque shoreline of Sicil…

    Romain Garcia, Kevin Tarpinian, Thomas Lopez-Massy, Avril Hug, Lauren Madec / France / 2016 / Short Narrative

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  • Supa Modo

    Ajyal Competition

    In this bittersweet, and heartfelt film, Jo, a bright nine-year-old girl is tragically diagnose…

    Likarion Wainaina / Kenya, Germany / 2018 / Feature Narrative

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  • Transformation

    Ajyal Competition

    A young disabled man who lives with his mother struggles to come to terms with his limitations.…

    Yousef Al Bagshi / Kuwait / 2017 / Short Narrative

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  • Two Balloons

    Ajyal Competition

    We join two very adventurous lemurs as they fly their majestic airships across the beautiful sk…

    Mark C. Smith / United States of America / 2017 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Two Trams

    Ajyal Competition

    Every morning, two city trams roam the streets of a bustling city serving local citizens and dr…

    Svetlana Andrianova / Russian Federation / 2016 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Weldi

    Ajyal Competition

    A Tunisian couple are nearing retirement age, but times are hard, and money is tight. The life…

    Mohamed Ben Attia / Tunisia, France, Belgium, Qatar / 2018 / Feature Narrative

    Favourites
    • Fri, Nov 30, 10:00 PM, K16-OH
    • Sat, Dec 1, 05:30 PM, NOV-P1

  • What Walaa Wants

    Ajyal Competition

    'What Walaa Wants' is the compelling story of a headstrong young girl. Raised in a refugee camp…

    Christy Garland / Canada, Denmark / 2018 / Feature Documentary

    Favourites
    • Wed, Nov 28, 08:30 PM, NOV-P1
    • Thu, Nov 29, 09:30 PM, K16-OH

  • Where Are You Right Meow?

    Ajyal Competition

    A young artist, Ayako, struggles with creative block. Suddenly, her beloved cat Beru goes missi…

    Maysam Al-Ani / Qatar / 2018 / Short Narrative

    Favourites

  • Zoo

    Ajyal Competition

    Young Tom and his misfit friends fight to save ‘Buster’ the baby elephant during the German air…

    Colin McIvor / Ireland, United Kingdom / 2017 / Feature Narrative

    Favourites
    • Fri, Nov 30, 05:30 PM, NOV-P1
    • Sat, Dec 1, 04:00 PM, K16-OH

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