Qatar- Al Jazeera festival opens to unify cultures achieve global peace

11/26/2015 9:49:38 PM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Al Jazeera Satellite Network Chairman Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani addressing the opening ceremony of Al Jazeera International Documentary Festival at the Ritz-Carlton Doha yesterday.

By Raynald C Rivera

DOHA: As Al Jazeera International Documentary Festival starts a new decade it aims to unify cultures to achieve peace and prosperity for all nations Al Jazeera Satellite Network Chairman Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani said as he formally opened the festival at Ritz-Carlton Doha yesterday.

“The 11th edition the festival will take us into the wider horizons based on productive dialogue and enhancing communication and interaction among nations their cultures and civilisations. You will see in the participations from different parts of the world tell stories of the people there to the people here via diverse integrated context through beautiful narrative and thematic expressions.

“Our main target is to reach that intellectual and cultural reaction which bond nations and lead to brotherhood peace and prosperity” said Sheikh Hamad on the festival theme ‘Horizons’.

Reflecting on what the festival has achieved in the past decade and what it hopes to achieve in the future he said “As much as we are happy in what we have achieved during the first decade we look forward to the future. Hoping it will be bigger and better.

“The festival this year comes under the theme ‘Horizons’ as we have seen the unique diversity and human experiences recorded in the films that took part in the festival in the past few years.

“We saw how these participations each time reflected our aspirations and inspiration of the Arab audience and deepening our understanding for the human being and understanding the world.”

Divided by God? a film on Israel and Palestine by Dutch filmmaker Ton Kraaijenvanger served as the festival opening film. The 34-minute film tells the story of one nation’s regime of oppression and colonisation that needs to be transformed to help bring about peace with equal rights.

It was followed by Sunakali: Teenage Girls’ Journey to Glory by Nepali filmmaker Bhojraj Bhat.

A total of 147 films from 50 countries will be screened at the festival which will end with an awarding ceremony on Sunday. The films include 30 long 50 medium 47 short and 20 new horizon ones. They have been chosen from among 775 submitted by TV channels production companies independent filmmakers and international institutes from 90 countries. This year’s honours include Al Jazeera Golden Award Jury Award New Horizon Award Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Award Public Liberties and Human Rights Award and Child and Family Award.

The Peninsula

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