11th Edition of Doha Film Institute’s Qumra to Welcome Over 250 Global Film Industry Professionals
- Experts representing all aspects of cinema will mentor Qumra projects by first-and second-time filmmakers from across the world
- Qumra 2025 will welcome accomplished industry professionals from 50 nations to provide constructive feedback during one-on-one sessions and specially curated industry consultations
- Emerging filmmakers will receive extended Qumra 2025 mentorship during in-person events from April 4-9 and online sessions from April 12-14.
Doha, Qatar; March 12, 2025: The 11th edition of Qumra, Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) annual talent incubator for Arab and international cinema, will welcome over 250 film industry professionals representing all aspects of the entire life cycle of film production and exhibition to mentor emerging talent and provide creative feedback and business advice to take their films to the next level of success.
This year’s mentorship for Qumra filmmakers will extend beyond in-person meetings from April 4 to 9 to include online sessions from April 12 to 14, further expanding access to the invaluable guidance of industry experts that will support the success of their projects.
Industry professionals participating in Qumra 2025 come from 50 different countries this year – the most to date. Many of the acclaimed film directors, producers, film festival and market representatives, programmers, consultants, fund managers, sales professionals, acquisition heads, script experts, distributors, video on demand (VoD) platforms and broadcasters, and other industry leaders are return participants of Qumra, and have played a defining role in shaping the most exciting new voices in Arab and world cinema.
Qumra 2025’s industry delegates will be coming from such diverse countries as Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Honk Kong, India, Iran, Italy, Jordan, KSA, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Norway, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, UK, United Kingdom and USA.
This year’s edition showcases a significant presence of guests and projects from the Global South, with a diverse selection from Asia, Africa, and Latin America underscoring DFI’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent and fostering the development of underrepresented voices in world cinema.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of Doha Film Institute, said: “The presence of industry experts at Qumra is more than just guidance—it is a powerful catalyst for transformation. By sharing their knowledge, experience, and networks, these mentors empower new voices to carve their space on the global stage, ensuring that diverse and compelling stories find their rightful place in the world. We are deeply grateful to these experts for joining us in our commitment to the next generation of global storytellers and for their invaluable support in helping shape the future of world cinema.”
Qumra will host 27 feature-length projects, 10 series projects, and 12 short films at different stages of development, production and post-production. Each creative team will receive personalized project consultations in pre-scheduled meetings with various international cinema industry experts.
Project Mentors and Consultants
Qumra 2025 project mentors include internationally acclaimed filmmakers Elia Suleiman, Rithy Panh, Annemarie Jacir, Ghassan Salhab, Kamal Aljafari, Tala Hadid and Talal Derki.
Project consultants for Qumra 2025 feature projects include Brigid O’Shea, Jihan Al Tahri, Benjamin Mirguet, Qutaiba Barhamji, Sebastián Sepúlveda, Aranka Matits, Joanna Solecka, Konstantina Stavrianou, E. Nina Rothe, Bob Moore, Catherine Dussart, Didar Domehri, Dora Bouchoucha, Joslyn Barnes, Dorota Lech, Hédi Zardi, Jad Abi Khalil, Teresa Cavina, Zsuzsi Bankuti, Gabor Greiner, Maëlle Guenegues, Antoine Waked, Joelle Touma, Raja Amari, Rana Eid, Séverin Favrieau, Kevin Chan and Pierre-Alexandre Labelle.
Series projects mentors include Izzy Abidi, Frédéric Pittoors d’Haveskercke, Gabriele Capolino, Paolo Ciccarelli, Joshua Banta, Marc Lorber, Marike Muselaers, Neerja Narayanan, Ryan O’Nan and Ziad Srouji.
Experts advising Qumra Shorts projects include Alice Kharoubi, Ben Thompson, Céline Roustan, Julie Rousson, Karim Aïtouna, Myriam Sassine, Ayman El Amir, Britta Krause, Irit Neidhart and Jean-Christophe J. Lamontagne.
A key aspect of Qumra’s impact is the ongoing involvement of its mentors in DFI’s year-round training initiatives such as the Filmmaking Lab with Rithy Panh, the Producers Lab, the Feature Script Lab, the Short Script Lab, the Series Lab, and the First Cut Lab. Notably, 21 projects selected at Qumra this year have graduated from these programmes.
Production Companies
Production companies and producers attending Qumra 2025 include Words And Pictures, Abbout Productions, La Prod, Film Clinic, Watermelon Pictures, Philistine Films, Special Touch Studios, Pallas Film, Katara Studios and The Film House among others.
Festival Guests
Film festival representatives from more than 40 leading events, including Cannes, CPH:DOX , DOK Leipzig, El Gouna, FIDMarseille, Hot Docs, Jihlava, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Marrakech, Rotterdam (IFFR), Sarajevo, Sheffield DocFest, Sundance, Tribeca, Venice, and Viennale will participate in work-in-progress feedback panels for projects in post-production as well as at industry roundtables.
Sales and Distribution Guests
Sales and distribution firms at Qumra include Alphaviolet, Autlook Filmsales, Bac Films, CAT & DOCS, Fandango, Films Boutique, H264 Distribution, Haut et Court, Heretic, Indie Sales, LightDox, Lucky Number, Luxbox, Mediawan, Memento International, mk2, New Europe Film Sales, Picture Tree International GmbH, Pluto, Pulsar Content, Pyramide International, Urban Distribution International, Film Clinic, Front Row Entertainment, MAD Solutions, Metropolis Art Cinema, and Moving Turtle among others.
Industry Guests
There will be a strong representation of film institutes and funds at Qumra 2025, with representatives from Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), Chicken & Egg Pictures, Eurimages, Film Independent, Point North, Royal Film Commission Jordan, Sundance Institute, and The Whickers.
Film lab and training organizations include EAVE, Eurodoc, La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde, Locarno Open Doors, and Torino National Film Museum, Aflamuna, Atlas Workshops, Film Independant, Final Cut in Venice, and Sud Ecriture.
Qumra Series Guests
Prominent leaders in serialized content and drama series markets, such as MIA Market Roma, Miramax, Nordisk Film, Rise Studios, Series Mania, Channel Zero, Connecta Fiction, Midpoint Institute, SERIENCAMP, ZDF Studios and The Gotham will also attend Qumra.
Streamers and Broadcasters
Streaming and broadcasting representatives in attendance include Arte France, beIN, HBO Max, MBC, Mubi, OSN, TOD, Inc., Shahid, Shorts of the Week, TRT, TV 2M, Al Araby TV, Al Jazeera Media Network and Under The Milky Way.
The event will feature industry meetings designed to assist talents to propel their projects to their next stages of development through master classes, work-in-progress screenings, industry roundtables, project pitching, bespoke matchmaking sessions and tailored mentorships with industry experts. This creative exchange will take place alongside a programme of public screenings of films supported by DFI.
