The Doha Film Institute’s Qumra Arab film industry incubator has been scrapped as a physical event and moved online due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran war that has spiraled further into the Middle East, including into Qatar.
Qatar has been repeatedly struck by Iranian missiles and drones throughout the conflict as part of Tehran’s retaliation on Gulf states with a presence of U.S. assets. The attacks have been intercepted but have caused thousands of flights to be cancelled at Doha’s Hamad international airport since the conflict began on Feb. 28.
“In light of the recent developments in the region, we have made the difficult decision to hold this upcoming edition of Qumra online to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our guests, projects and team,” the DFI said in a statement on Tuesday.
Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market and festival elements.
Qumra’s 12th edition had been scheduled to run March 27-April 1 in Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art as well as in the city’s downtown Mushaireb neighborhood with the participation of Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Alice Diop, Faouzi Bensaïdi and Gustavo Santaolalla, who had been recruited to give masterclasses and mentor filmmakers. Some 200 international film executives had been expected to make the trek to Doha for Qumra, for which the DFI’s artistic advisor is Palestinian auteur Elia Suleiman.
The event’s dates will remain in place. The online format will focus primarily on private one-on-one mentorship sessions for the roughly 50 selected DFI-supported film and TV projects.
“While we are deeply saddened by the current circumstances, our unwavering commitment to provide meaningful exchange and mentorship for selected projects through Qumra remains a priority,” the statement noted.
Core elements of the online Qumra program will include mentorship sessions for all selected projects; the Series Pitch presentation on 30 March; one-on-one meeting opportunities for industry guests with projects of interest; access to selected feature-length and short films currently in post-production available for festivals, sales and distributors via Festivalscope from 23 March to 8 April.
The DFI said selected Qumra projects will be announced soon.
Qumra’s 2025 edition featured Iraqi director Hasan Hadi’s “The President’s Cake,” which went on to win the Cannes’ Caméra d’Or and was shortlisted for best international feature film at the 2026 Academy Awards.
