{
  "id": 18910019,
  "title": "Doha Film Festival announces Ajyal Film Competition line up, honours the Power of Youth and Cinema",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/doha-film-festival-announces-ajyal-film-competition-line-up-honours",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-08T10:02:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Peninsula Qatar",
    "slug": "the-peninsula-qatar",
    "url": "https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/08/11/2026/doha-film-festival-announces-ajyal-film-competition-line-up-honours-the-power-of-youth-and-cinema"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Doha, Qatar - The Doha Film Festival (DFF) has unveiled the lineup for the 2026 Ajyal Film Competition, a program celebrating the creative spirit and youthful energy of young filmmakers. The competition features 17 films, including five feature-length works and 12 short films, showcasing the diverse perspectives and stories of emerging filmmakers from around the globe.\n\nAt the helm of the competition is the Ajyal Jury, a panel of young individuals aged 16-25 who engage in discussions about the films and ultimately determine the winners. This youthful composition underscores the importance of the next generation's role in shaping cultural conversations and fostering meaningful dialogue through cinema.\n\nFatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of Doha Film Institute and Festival Director of DFF, emphasized the significance of the Ajyal program in empowering young people: \"Young people are not merely the audience of tomorrow; they are voices, visionaries and storytellers shaping our world today. The growth of the Ajyal jurors exemplifies this, as they now curate and moderate the competition, highlighting the power of cinema to build a more compassionate future when led by youthful energy.\"\n\nThe feature film competition showcases five distinct cinematic voices, each exploring the complexities of growing up, the search for belonging, and the relationships that shape our lives. These films, such as \"Ben'Imana,\" \"Gabin,\" \"Out of School,\" \"Summer Meadow,\" and \"We Are Aliens,\" offer poignant narratives that resonate with the experiences of young people worldwide.\n\nIn parallel, the Ajyal Short Film Competition presents 12 standout short films that reflect the diversity of young filmmakers' experiences and the myriad ways cinema can illuminate our world. Titles like \"As a Cure,\" \"Boomerang Atomic,\" \"Boundaries,\" \"Intersecting Memory,\" \"Nobody Said Anything,\" \"Prisoner of Love,\" \"The Bird's Placebo,\" \"The Kalgan Horse,\" \"Threads of Support,\" \"Typhoon Mambo,\" and \"Vegetare\" demonstrate the boundless creativity and vision of the emerging generation of filmmakers.",
  "summary": "<p>Doha, Qatar: Doha Film Festival (DFF), presented by Doha Film Institute (DFI), today announced the selection for the 2026 Ajyal Film Competition, bringing together 17 films that celebrate the imagination, curiosity and creative spirit of young people.</p> <p>Featuring five feature films and 12 short films from a diverse range of international filmmakers, the selection reflects Ajyal&rsquo;s…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "People Daily Kenya",
        "title": "Power blackout disrupts Gachagua’s speech during night festival",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/power-blackout-disrupts-gachaguas-speech-during-night-festival",
        "published": "2026-11-08T03:23:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}