(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The 10th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival which was scheduled to begin on April 17 has been postponed to October 23, due to the closure of Sheraton Doha for renovation, the organisers said yesterday
Abbas Aranaout, Director of the Festival said that the change in the dates will not affect the quality of the event which is planned to be held on a larger scale this year to mark its 10th anniversary.
He said the organisers were in the process of launching the 10th edition on April 17, and "were taken aback" by the closure of the hotel "because finding an alternative venue in such a short notice was not possible.
The motto of the 10th anniversary is "Steps" which represents the first step taken when the first edition was launched in 2005. Now the step turned into steps and the motto is inspired by the proverb "a journey of thousand miles begins with a single step".
"The steps don't come to an end, what we've walked is not the end point. Rather, they were just steps that will be followed by many others," the festival director added
"We can announce the number of participating films has exceeded all expectations. We received films from over 100 countries," said Aranaout. The opening and closing ceremonies of the festival will seek folkloric band shows. Some of the winning films from previous festivals will be showed. Film directors have been invited to hold post-film discussions with viewers and answer their queries
The main seminar will be held in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage about the importance of Arabic language and the role it has in the intellectual, cultural, and human innovation. In addition, there will be a series of seminars discussing important subjects in the realm of documentary films, as well as an exhibition for satellite and news channels and Arab and international production firms
The films represent all age groups with a high presence of youth. There is a huge demand on the New Horizon competition, which is dedicated to films produced by amateur or debutante directors. There will be more long films compared to medium or short films
The festival organisers have already increased the number of awards to eight. Best Camerawork and Best Direction are the two newly introduced awards. Each award will be divided into three categories: long, short, and medium
Aljazeera festival awards are as follows: Aljazeera Golden Award for the best winning film from the three categories (long, short, and medium); and the Jury Award for the best long, medium, and short films
There are three special awards sponsored by Aljazeera satellite channel for the best three films discussing a certain topic for that year. Public Liberties and Human Rights Award is for the best three films discussing liberties and human rights and sponsored by the Public Liberties and Human Rights Administration at Aljazeera
The Child and Family Award comprises three awards that are presented to the best three films discussing the children and family issues and sponsored by Aljazeera Children Channel.
As for the "Promising Films Award"; three awards will be given for the best three films produced by students of Qatari universities and it is sponsored by Qatar Foundation. New Horizon Award comprises two awards for the best two films produced by students and beginners
A third award has been added this year and sponsored by Aljazeera Training and Development Centre
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