Doha Film Festival 2025 Honours Global Storytellers and Emerging Talent
Doha, Qatar; November 29, 2025: Doha Film Festival, presented by Doha Film Institute, 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 H.E. Sheikh Thani bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Fund for Development and DFI Board Member; H.E. Sheikh Dr. Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, Chairman, Media City Qatar; H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, Managing Director, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy; H.E. Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Minister of State and President of Qatar National Library; Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi, CEO, Qatar Museums; Eng. Abdulaziz Al-Mawlawi, CEO, Visit Qatar; Mr. Abdulla Al Najjar, Member of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums and Eng. Jassim Mohamed Al-Khori, Chief Executive Officer of Media City Qatar 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, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Festival Director and CEO of DFI, 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 promise that 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 Doha Film Festival 2025 are:
International Feature Film Competition:
- 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
- Best Narrative: Sleepless City by Guillermo Galoe
The jury was led by Rithy Panh, Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker with director and screenwriter Raja Amari, actor and filmmaker Dhafer L’Abidine, renowned photographer Brigitte Lacombe and Founder and Curator of Final Cut Venice Alessandra Speciale.
International Short Film Competition:
- Special Mention: L’Mina by Randa Maaroufi
- Special Mention for Performance: Ammar Ahmed (Zizou)
- Best Performance: Milica Janevski (Upon Sunrise)
- Best Director: Aria Sánchez & Marina Meira (Primary Education)
- Best Film: Samba Infinito (Leonardo Martinelli)
The jury was led by industry professional Eddie Bertozzi with filmmakers Faris Alrjoob and Zoljargal Purevdash.
Made in Qatar Competition
- Special Mention: Project Aisha by Fahad Al-Nahdi
- Abdulaziz Jassim Award for Performance: Rashid Al Sheeb (Fahad the Furious)
- Best Director: Eiman Mirghani (Villa 187)
- Best Film: Fahad the Furious by Justin Kramer
The jury was led by actress, director and producer Afef Ben Mahmoud, with Head of Development at Katara Studios Fahad Al-Kuwari and producer and distributor Alaa Alasad.
Ajyal Film Competition
- Best Feature: The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania
- Best Short: Sulaimani by Vinnie Ann Bose
The winners were selected by a youth jury aged 16-25 from all across the world.
Audience Award: Cotton Queen by Suzannah Mirghani.
The festival featured 97 thought-provoking films from 62 countries and a wide range of creative community events. DFF had four main competition sections, special screenings, music performances, Geekdom and other community initiatives.
Key Partners of Doha Film Festival were Katara, Media City Qatar I Film Committee and Visit Qatar. The festival was hosted across several venues including Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb Downtown Doha, Lusail Boulevard and the Museum of Islamic Art. For more information, visit www.dohafilm.com.
