Film by CMU-Q grad launches DFI’s “Short of the Week” series
Nora Al Subai was in the first class to graduate from CMU-Q in 2008. She has since launched a career in film-making. Her short film, “Al-Johara,” was the first in the Doha Film Institute’s new screening series, “Short of the Week.”
“DFI to screen short films online every Thursday” by Raynald C. Rivera was published in The Peninsula on April 23, 2020
The Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced it will hold weekly screenings of short films online for free every Thursday starting today.
Announced through DFI’s social media channels, the “Short of the Week” series will bring the very best of DFI-supported films for movie buffs to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes via DFI’s YouTube channel. The series has been launched to encourage people to stay home amid COVID-19 outbreak as well as show support to Qatari films and Arab cinema.
The Thursday screenings will also include exclusive releases and behind-the-scenes insights from the filmmakers, said DFI.
Kicking off the series is the short narrative “Al-Johara” helmed by Qatari filmmaker Nora Al Subai. The film is a Qatari take on the classic Cinderella fairytale accentuating Arabic traditions with a modern twist.
Made a servant in her own home by her evil stepfamily, the titular character receives a wedding invitation from an old childhood friend. With the help of a neighbour — an eccentric, traditional old woman — Al-Johara might be able to attend her very first wedding and finally be like her beautiful sisters.
Al-Johara is a recipient of the Qatari Film Fund, an initiative the Institute launched in 2015 to support Qatari filmmakers.
In Arabic with English subtitles, this 26-minute romantic comedy marked its premiere at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival and also made its way to the Festival de Cannes and the Sarajevo Film Festival. Last year, Al-Johara received the Special Jury Award in the Made in Qatar section of the Ajyal Film Festival.
Qatari writer and director Nora Al Subai was born and raised in France. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar with a degree in Computer Science. Her 2013 short film “My Hero” premiered in the Ajyal Youth Film Festival, where it was named Best Short Film.
“My Hero” also took part in Cannes, the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the Children’s Film Festival Seattle, and the Latin Arab Festival in Buenos Aires.
Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, DFI has launched a number of online initiatives such as the first online youth animation workshop and the inaugural online screenwriting lab for beginners. It also successfully carried out the adapted online mentorship and support program for the 2020 edition of Qumra, its annual talent incubation event.