Doha Film Institute announces 2025 Spring Grants supporting 45 film projects
The Doha Film Institute has revealed the recipients of its 2025 Spring Grants, continuing its mission to champion independent filmmaking across the Arab world and beyond. This year, 45 diverse projects representing more than 35 countries have been selected to receive support from the film funding initiative, which has backed more than 950 projects in 75 countries to date.
Awarded twice a year in Spring and Fall, the DFI Grants programme is dedicated to discovering and nurturing first- and second-time filmmakers, supporting a broad range of works including feature narratives, documentaries, shorts, experimental and essay films, as well as TV and web series.
The 2025 Spring cycle highlights the growing presence of women filmmakers, with 16 projects directed by women, alongside 12 returning grantees and five projects by Qatari and Qatar-based talent. This round also marks the return of voices from Yemen and Sudan and showcases strong Gulf representation from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.
In addition to Qatar, this cycle's grantees come from countries including France, Iraq, Canada, the UK, Jordan, Tunisia, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, the USA, Germany, Algeria, Switzerland, Belgium, Libya, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa, Mozambique, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, the Netherlands, Iran, India, Norway, Denmark, Morocco, Syria, Rwanda, Uzbekistan and Bahrain.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, stated: 'Our Grants programme was founded to offer tangible support for original stories and important voices from around the world. These 45 films reflect the bold, diverse, and deeply human stories that challenge convention and are shaping the future of cinema. In a time marked by conflict, displacement and uncertainty, these stories offer urgently needed perspectives and affirm the role of film as a witness, a bridge and a call to empathy.'
Among the selected feature narrative projects are The Arab Apocalypse by Samy Sidali, Madness and Honey Days by Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji, Sari & Amira by A.J. Al-Thani and A Sad and Beautiful World by Cyril Aris. Feature documentaries include Akal by Basma Rkioui, Pure Madness by Inès Arsi and Do You Love Me by Lana Daher.
Notable international titles such as Renoir by Chie Hayakawa, Variations on a Theme by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar, and Memory by Vladlena Sandu reflect the Institute's commitment to a truly global independent cinema.
The grants also extend to emerging voices in television and digital formats, including Like a Feather in the Breeze by Sherif Elbendary, Legacy of Light: Echoes from the House of Wisdom by Maha Al-Naemi, and web and short form works like Imagine Me Like a Country of Love by Thana Faroq and Hidden Journey by Noura Adil Suliman.
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