Doha Film Festival 2026 Unveils Gala and Special Screenings Featuring Urgent Stories and Important Voices
• From acclaimed adrenaline-fueled adventures to compelling portraits of Palestinian history and urgent stories from Gaza and Lebanon, the selection reflects the diversity of the festival
• Latest works from auteurs and debutant directors bring together distinctive cinematic voices from around the world
• Three films supported by Film Committee at Media City Qatar included in the line-up: Paper Tiger, Artou and Furies
Doha, Qatar; 19 October 2026: Doha Film Festival (DFF) 2026 will present an inspiring programme of Gala and Special Screenings that honours the power of cinema to challenge perspectives and bring audiences closer to universal stories. Taking place from November 19 to 27, the selection spans acclaimed international narratives, enlightening documentaries, intimate human dramas and fantastical adventures, reflecting the festival’s diverse voices and commitment to creating meaningful connections through cinema.
Two adrenaline-fueled thrillers in the programme, Paper Tiger, James Gray’s gripping story of family and consequence and Rami Kodeih Furies, a daring sister heist adventure, along with Artou, the first 360° immersive film by Abderrahmane Sissako are supported by Film Committee at Media City Qatar, underlining the expanding reach of Qatar’s burgeoning industry.
The programme also includes Edward Said: Between Worlds, Maiken Baird’s deeply personal documentary exploring the life and legacy of the Palestinian American scholar; Bruno Dumont’s Red Rocks that offers a contrasting perspective on childhood, freedom and imagination; Jeffrey Walker’s riotous family adventure Fing!; Life Support, Daniele Rugo’s urgent documentary about international medical volunteers working alongside Palestinian colleagues in Gaza; Ginevra Elkann’s atmospheric drama The Roses of Marrakech (Le Rose Di Marrakech) where an unexpected arrival unsettles the carefully ordered lives of those who inhabit it; Ali El Arabi’s debut feature 52 Blue’ about a young man’s journey to Qatar World Cup to meet his idol Lionel Messi and Artou, an immersive film by Abderrahmane Sissako depicting a country rarely filmed through the lens of an initiatory journey.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of Doha Film Institute and Director of Doha Film Festival, said: “Our Gala and Special Screenings will bring audiences together through films that move, surprise, and spark conversation. From gripping dramas and timely documentaries to stories filled with humour, adventure and discovery, the selection celebrates the courage to question what we take for granted and find dignity and truth in the complexity of human experience. Audiences will leave the cinema with new perspectives, questions to reflect on, and stories that stay with them long after the final frame.”
Gala Screenings at DFF 2026 are:
Edward Said: Between Worlds (USA/Qatar) (Middle East Premiere) by Maiken Baird is set twenty-three years after the death of Palestinian American scholar, musician and intellectual Edward Said, who revisits the untold history of Palestine in his own words. The film offers an intimate portrait of a defining intellectual voice while examining the enduring question of who has the right to tell their own story.
Fing! (Australia/United Kingdom) (International Premiere) by Jeffrey Walker is about Myrtle Meek who has everything she could ever want, yet for her twelfth birthday she demands a Fing. Nobody knows what a Fing is, but her doting librarian parents agree to the request, sending her father on a journey to a lost jungle to find one.
Furies (Lebanon/Brazil) (MENA Premiere) by Rami Kodeih follows determined single mother Maro a year after Lebanon’s economic collapse, who needs her savings to pay for her younger sister Dalia’s life-saving surgery, but when the bank refuses to release the money, the sisters devise a daring, all-night heist to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
Paper Tiger (USA) (MENA Premiere) by master filmmaker James Gray is set in 1980s New York, following two brothers whose pursuit of the American Dream draws them into a scheme that seems too good to be true. As they navigate the dangerous world of the Russian mafia, corruption and violence threaten their family, testing their integrity and the loyalties that bind them.
Red Rocks (Portugal/France/Italy/Spain/Qatar) (MENA Premiere) by French auteur Bruno Dumont captures a summer on the French Riviera through the fearless adventures of rival gangs of children involving daredevil cliff-jumping competitions.
Special Screenings at DFF 2026 are:
Artou (France/Mauritania/Luxembourg/Qatar) (Middle East Premiere), the first 360° immersive film by Abderrahmane Sissako follows three sisters and three brothers on their journey from Europe to Mauritania to fulfill the last wish of their father to be laid to rest beside his father in his native village.
Life Support (UK/Qatar) (MENA Premiere) by Daniele Rugo is set in Gaza post October 2023, when the city is sealed off from the world with international doctors among the few able to enter its hospitals to volunteer. Filmed largely on the doctors’ phones, the film offers an intimate account of the people striving to preserve life amid a devastating humanitarian crisis.
The Roses of Marrakech (Le Rose Di Marrakech) (Italy) (Middle East Premiere) by Ginevra Elkann is about Leila, the devoted housekeeper of Madame Isabelle, who lives in a luxurious estate. When her sister arrives unexpectedly with news of a past Leila has long buried, the tranquility of the estate begins to fracture, revealing the secrets and unresolved histories beneath its seemingly timeless surface.
52 Blue’ (India/Egypt/USA) (MENA Premiere) by Ali El Arabi is a heart-warming coming-of-age drama, that tells the story of Ashish, a reclusive young man set on meeting his idol, Lionel Messi, at the World Cup in Qatar. Lying to his family, he embarks on a journey that leads him from the peaceful and sheltered bubble of his rural Kerala home to a job as a stadium worker.
Key Partners of Doha Film Festival include Katara, Media City Qatar I Film Committee and Visit Qatar. Taking place from 19–27 November 2026, Doha Film Festival brings together filmmakers, audiences and industry voices from the region and beyond to honour original storytelling and important voices in film. For more information, visit www.dohafilm.com.
