Doha Film Festival opened its 15th year with an emotional address from the mother of Hind Rajab, the five-year-old Palestinian girl whose final phone call from Gaza became one of the most widely reported moments of the war.
Speaking on stage at the Mena premiere of The Voice of Hind Rajab, Wissam Hamada told the audience: “Hind is gone, but her voice still wakes me up every dawn.”
She continued: “My message is not just words – it’s the pain of a mother who lost her daughter, and then found in her universal love a message from God, and understood that my role is to carry the voice of the children of Gaza to the world, the children who live in the heart of war, in darkness, deprived of their most basic rights, of their dreams that are snatched away before they grow up.”
The opening film, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania – who was in attendance along with the cast and crew – is Tunisia’s official submission for the 2026 Academy Awards. It will also screen at next month's Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A UAE release date has yet to be announced.
Doha Film Festival returns for a scaled-up edition, as the international spotlight on Arab film grows. “This year marks 15 years of commitment to a vision that has now become a reality,” said Doha Film Institute chief executive and festival director Fatma Hassan Alremaihi. “DFI is more than an institution shaping the global film industry; it is a promise that every voice matters and that art will always have a home in Qatar.”
She added: “DFI has established the golden age of Arab cinema as an essential chapter in the world’s collective story, where long-term commitment meets long-term impact. As we turn a new page with Doha Film Festival, we are poised and ready to build a global community coming together in dialogue to shape a shared future rooted in purpose and possibility.”
Syrian actor Jamal Soliman and Iranian-French actress Golshifteh Farahani were honoured during the opening ceremony with the festival’s Creative Excellence Award for their artistic contributions.
Running until November 28, the festival will present about 90 films across Doha. Alongside Friday’s Mena premieres of Blue Heron and My Father and Qaddafi, as well as The Christophers – with director Steven Soderbergh and star Michaela Coel attending – the wider programme includes regional titles such as Once Upon a Time in Gaza, With Hasan in Gaza, Khartoum, Cotton Queen and Divine Comedy.
