Qatari female filmmakers bask in the spotlight

DOHA: As Qatari filmmakers gathered on the red carpet at Doha’s Ajyal Film Festival, one thing stood out: the majority of local directors were women.

“I think this is a question everyone is mesmerised by: the idea that we have more women in filmmaking here in Doha than men,” said festival director Fatma al-Remaihi.

Among those showing movies at the annual six-day festival, which ends today, are Aisha al-Shammakh, Nouf al-Sulaiti and the rising star of Qatari cinema, Amal al-Muftah.

Their films focus on a variety of subjects, from “maligned” Qatari millennials and father-daughter relationships to stories from the gas-rich country’s recent and much less wealthy past.

The women are redressing “many misconceptions about them around the world,” said Remaihi, who also heads the Doha Film Institute.

A 2016 study by Northwestern University in Doha found that around 60% of all emerging filmmakers in Qatar’s nascent cinema industry were women.

Across the rest of the Middle East and North Africa region, the figure was around 25%, the study said.

The emergence of female filmmakers comes as conservative Qatar is seeking to portray itself as the progressive power in the Gulf.

Muftah received a rapturous ovation as she was introduced at Ajyal and said filmmakers in Qatar were “like pioneers”.

“I know from the outside it seems there is segregation ... but here really I feel like it’s a level field... whether you’re a man or a woman, you are treated the same,” she added.

“The community of women in Doha are very private. And I just feel like as women filmmakers, we have access to that community and to so many different stories.”