What’s in store at Doha’s Ajyal Youth Film Festival



Now in its second year, the Ajyal Youth Film Festival replaced the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, which ran from 2009 to 2012, when a five-year collaboration with New York’s Tribeca Film Festival came to an end.

Spotlight on youth

The festival is now heavily focused on family-orientated films (Ajyal means generations), with the aim of providing young cinemagoers with the opportunity to learn about other cultures and countries.

Two Sundance hits – Whiplash, about a student drummer (Miles Teller) being taught by a bullying jazz maestro (J K Simmons); and the director Zeresenay Mehari's Oscar contender Difret, an Ethiopian drama about a child kidnapping – have been selected for screening because they feature teenagers grappling with growing up and the demands of the adult world.

Unique to the Middle East

The other main film festivals in the region – in Abu Dhabi and Dubai – aim to show the best movies fitting their selection criteria. This often overlaps and means that some films will show at more than one festival.

Ajyal differs in that it gives priority to films for younger viewers. This focus ensures that there are many Middle East premières and the occasional world premiere to enjoy.

The numbers

Ninety films from 43 countries will be screened, 21 of which are feature films, 10 of them by first or second-time directors. There are also 40 short films.

Theeb (funded by Sanad, the development and post-production fund of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival), which had it's regional premiere in Abu Dhabi, will also be screened. The film won Naji Abu Nowar the Orrizzonti Award for best director at the Venice International Film Festival.

The stars

Special guests attending the festival include the actress Salma Hayek, the directors Roger Allers, Joan Gratz and Mohammed Saeed Harib, who are all behind the animated ensemble feature Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. Nowar will also be there, as will Amber Fares, the director of the opening-night film Speed Sisters.

The curtain-raiser

Speed Sisters is getting its world premiere at Ajyal. The documentary about the Middle East's first all-woman motor-racing team features five drivers – Marah, Mona, Betty, Noor and Maysoon – who have taken the Palestinian auto-racing world by storm. Fares is a Canadian-born filmmaker with Lebanese roots who lives in Ramallah. She founded SocDoc Studios to produce story-driven films that promote social issues in the Middle East. This is her feature-film debut.

Festival highlights

Fans of Japanese animation won't want to miss The Tale of Princess Kaguya, based on the 10th-century Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The film is directed by Isao Takahata, who made Grave of the Fireflies and is a co-founder of the legendary animation house Studio Ghibli.

Documentary lovers should see #chicagoGirl: The Social Network, directed by Joe Piscatella, which is about a young Syrian woman who takes part in the events in Syria from her bedroom in Chicago. Ala'a Basatneh, aka #chicagoGirl, will be at the festival.

The Made in Qatar section is perfect for those on the lookout for new talent. It showcases short films by filmmakers based in Qatar, which this year include a zombie horror (Qarar by Ali Al Ansari); Kings and Queens of Qatar, a documentary about the women's national chess team; and six winners from the Tarsheed Short Filmmaking Competition, which aims to raise awareness about water and electricity conservation.

artslife@thenational.ae

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes. 
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

'O'
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle

Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)

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A little about CVRL

Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.

One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases. 

The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery. 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Pathaan
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