Qumra sets a new model for developing emerging film talent
Industry experts and emerging filmmakers highlight Qumra, the new event by the Doha Film Institute, as setting a ground-breaking model for promoting the new generation of talent by offering "a real platform for networking".
"The most important aspect of film events is to gain access to people," observed Rashid Abdelhamid, the Palestinian producer of Dégradé, a Qumra Work in Progress project, one of 29 that are mentored by industry experts at Qumra.
"The networking opportunities here are great."
He said that one of the first funding for the film with an all-women cast, directed by Tarzan and Arab Abunasser, came from the Doha Film Institute.
Set in a strife-torn neighbourhood, the film is an attempt, says Abdelhamid, "to prove myself that I am a human being. People are tired of all the distributing images they see every day from the region; we are attempting to find some humour in the crazy situation."
The Doha Film Institute had extended similar funding support to Lisbon-born director Joao Salaviza for his feature-length debut, Mountain.
Today, with support from entities such as the Doha Film Institute, Arab filmmakers can tell stories from their point of view, said Bonhomme, adding that at Cannes there is no distinction made in the selection of films – whether it is from the Arab world or by first-time filmmakers.
"Every year, new ways of filmmaking evolve, the trends change year after year in every country, and the only way to know the trends is to meet the filmmakers."
Nadia Dresti, Artistic Direction Delegate at the Locarno Film Festival, said Qumra offered a strong platform for two-way learning, by getting to understand the culture and the thought process of the region’s filmmakers.
Karel Och of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, said the festival is more open to Arab cinema, and being at Qumra has changed the perception of the industry.
"Earlier, we would screen Arab films that were fished from major international film festivals alone, and that is clearly not enough."
An engaging group tutorial by script consultant Claire Dobbin had the participants break out into groups of three discussing how to develop plot lines and character lines.
She said that the basic themes for films in the Arab world all are about universal issues, and the craft is in bringing a true Middle East perspective.
She explained how to define the protagonists and antagonists in a story, how to define tangible goals for the protagonist, identifying his or her fears, and how to build on several crises towards the eventual catharsis.
About Qumra:
Qumra is an initiative that seeks to provide mentorship, nurturing and hands-on development for filmmakers from Qatar and around the world, alongside a series of screenings for Doha audiences featuring films by international masters and recipients of support from the Institute.
* The Arabic term ‘qumra’ is popularly said to be the origin of the word ‘camera’, and to have been used by the scientist, astronomer and mathematician Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham, 965-c.1040 CE), whose work in optics laid out the principles of the camera obscura.
