DFI has announced the recipients of its 2024 Fall Grants, reaffirming its commitment to supporting both emerging and established filmmakers from the Arab world and beyond. This year’s selection highlights a broad spectrum of projects at various production stages.

 

The DFI Grants program aims to cultivate first- and second-time filmmakers alongside renowned directors globally. Among the selected feature projects are Palestinian director Razan Madhoon’s Gaza-set drama The Good Spirit, Moroccan-French filmmaker Sofia Alaoui’s thriller Tarfaya, and The Joyful 1926 by the Algerian duo Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad. In total, the grants will support 30 feature fiction and documentary films, 13 short films, three TV series, and one web series.

 

Tarfaya is Alaoui’s second feature following her Sundance-winning film Animalia. This new project delves into a mysterious sleeping epidemic in a secluded Moroccan town, testing the resolve of a local doctor. It was developed through the Red Sea Film Festival’s Red Sea Lodge and Les Arcs Film Festival’s Coproduction Village.

 

Another significant project is In Memory of Times to Come, the debut feature from UK-based Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour. This co-production between Palestine, Denmark, Malta, the UK, and Qatar is set 30 years after an ecological disaster, following a couple residing in a renovated Bethlehem townhouse. Meanwhile, The Good Spirit expands on Madhoon’s short film of the same name, telling the story of a young woman in Gaza who rescues an injured stray dog against her family’s wishes.

 

In the post-production category, DFI is backing Ancestral Visions of the Future, a new work from Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, the director of This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection. This experimental essay film explores themes of identity, childhood, death, and exile through the eyes of a puppeteer, a mother, a boy, a farmer, and a city.

 

For the 2024 Fall Grants cycle, 47 projects from 23 countries across narrative, documentary, and experimental genres have been selected, underscoring the Institute’s commitment to fostering creativity and cinematic excellence. The grants are designed to provide filmmakers with the essential resources to realize their visions.

 

Additionally, 11 feature narrative and documentary projects from Qatari and Qatar-based talents have received support. The selected projects represent a diverse array of countries, including Algeria, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine, Spain, and Tunisia. Notably, this year’s recipients include 21 women filmmakers and 21 returning grantees.

 

Commenting on the recipients, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of Doha Film Institute, stated: “Our grants program is a cornerstone of our mission to empower filmmakers in realizing their artistic potential and sharing stories that resonate with audiences worldwide. DFI Grants have facilitated the script-to-screen journey of over 850 projects in cinema globally, contributing to the advancement of the industry and the empowerment of underrepresented voices.”