Documentaries can be a hard sell, but it’s one that’s getting easier all the time. Once viewed as something stiff and obligatory, documentary film has, in recent years, risen to the top of the heap—thanks in no small part to some of the earth-shaking, needle-pushing, and ultimately world-changing films that in the recent years have been provided a platform to come forward for the screening, which find their focus in war, love, art, and everything in between.
It heightens your joy when you see one representing everything quite right. The new generation of filmmakers are not bashful in creating some beautiful visual works featuring their poetry, passion, experiences and histories. The ‘Made in Qatar’ programme this year at 9th Ajyal Film Festival comprised 10 short films by Qatar-based filmmakers and they were screened at Katara Drama Theatre as well as at Katara Opera House. The programme featured internationally shown and award-winning short documentaries and narratives.
Short films and documentary are often shelved as another stepping stone between leaving film school and launching a big-screen career, but the best among them deserve to be seen in their own right.
Amongst the selection of films screened in the ‘Made in Qatar’ Programme included Atlal (Remnants), a fictional documentary, by young filmmakers Tony El Ghazal and Balkees al-Jaafari. The documentary follows Bassam, a retired Palestinian man in his fifties, on a journey between the past and present. An abandoned school, the remains of a beach club, and a dusty cinema hold Bassam's cherished memories from his life in Qatar. Through personal archives and interviews with Bassam and his wife, Laila, we get a deeper look into their stories—slowly revealing the dismaying thoughts behind Bassam's nostalgia.
Packed with raw talent, meticulously edited, and free from any commercial restraints, the documentary films provide an early insight into the mind of a soon-to-be household names and lay the foundations for everything that shall follow. Tony El Ghazal, Lebanese director and filmmaker and a recent graduate of Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) Class of 2021, said, “I was born and raised here in Qatar and so I really wanted to make a film dedicated to those who have been here for a lot of their lives.”
Ajyal has been back physically after an year of hiatus because of Covid restrictions. Balkees al-Jaafari, co-director of the film, an Iraqi filmmaker and director and also a graduate of NU-Q Class of 2021, said, “The challenging part for us in terms of filmmaking and producing Atlal has been Covid. That was the hardest part because we had to do everything in such a short time, because we knew the lockdown will happen again. So we had to finish the entire shoot in just two days.”
Talking about Ajyal Film Festival providing a platform to young filmmakers, El Ghazal said, “Film festival like Ajyal is really contributing in making a filmmaking hub in Qatar. That is really vital to anyone interested in filmmaking or continuing his career as a filmmaker. DFI is also very supportive as they provide workshops and run other programmes for people who’re interested so the hub, it’ll take a bit of time but it’s coming.”
So what’s next for the young filmmakers Tony and Balkees? Both have been working on another film together that is going to be touring different film festivals in the world. Balkees has a word for young filmmakers trying to pursue career and hoping to make it big. She says, “Don’t give up. If you have an idea just make it even if you don’t like it the first time, it’ll still work out in the end no matter what.”