Doha Film Institute CEO Addresses Attack ‘No Other Land’ Director

The ratcheting up of the Israel-Gaza conflict and recent attacks on pro-Palestinians activists loomed large at the opening of the Doha Film Institute’s annual talent and project meeting on Friday.

Some 300 attendees gathered for the welcoming meet and greet at Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art, followed by a masterclass by Brazilian director Walter Salles, fresh from his Best International Feature Film win for I’m Still Here.

In a strongly worded opening speech, DFI CEO Fatma Al Remaihi voiced her concerns over “attempts to erase voices in the region” and raised the case of the recent attack on Oscar-winning Palestinian No Other Land director Hamdam Ballal.

Referring to the fact the DFI is marking its 15th anniversary, Al Remaihi said the institute’s founding mission to nurture untold stories from the region was more relevant than ever.

“Today, as we celebrate this milestone, we find ourselves at a complex crossroads where the world is witnessing continuing genocides,” she said. “The promise of peace and ceasefire are merely cover stories for the continued dehumanisation and attempts to erase voices in the region.”

Israel resumed its ground operation in Gaza on March 19 after negotiations to extend a fragile ceasefire involving an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners failed.

More than 1,000 people have been killed and 280,000 displaced since the resumption of the offensive, which has left more than 50,000 people dead in Gaza to date. The military campaign was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of 251 hostages.

“In a world where many prominent cultural events and institutions have chosen silence over solidarity and protesting voices face marginalization, we must stand firm in our duty as storytellers and ambassadors for humanity, it’s as simple as that,” said Al Remaihi.

Al Remaihi was speaking one week after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued an apology for failing to mention Ballal’s name in a statement it put out after he was attacked by settlers in his West Bank village and then detained by the Israeli army.

The Oscar win for the documentary – following the struggle of people living in the West Bank Palestinian villages of Masafer Yatta in the face of attempts by Israel to erase their homes and history from the map – has sparked an uptick in settler violence against the communities captured in the film in recent weeks.

El Remaihi said the attack on Ballal just weeks after he attended the Academy Awards in L.A. with co-directors and Basel Adra and Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, spoke volumes.

“The recent attack on Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal proves that even winning the most prestigious award-an Oscar- does not offer any safety from violent oppression,” she said.

“Now, more than ever, spaces like Qumra must exist—not just as a forum for artistic growth, but as a platform for voices that refuse to be silenced. It may sound cliché but cinema is more than just art—it is the last remaining tool we have for positive change and resilience,” she concluded.

Running from April 4 to 9 in Doha, the 11th edition of Qumra will host the directors and producers of 49 works supported by the DFI’s grantee program in various stages of development and production.