Doha: Doha Film Institute announced the recipients of its 2025 Spring Grants cycle representing independent voices from over 35 countries. 45 diverse projects from the Arab world and international will benefit from the Middle East’s long-standing film development initiative, that has supported over 950 projects to date from more than 75 countries.
DFI Grants programme, awarded biannually in Spring and Fall, stands as the most established film support system in the region, dedicated to identifying and nurturing first and second-time filmmakers. It champions feature and short narratives, documentaries, experimental and essay films as well as TV and web series.
The Spring Grant 2025 recipients include 16 projects by women filmmakers, 12 returning filmmakers, and five projects by Qatari and Qatar-based talent, highlighting the Institute’s dedication to the development of independent cinema from the region and beyond. This round sees the return of Yemen and Sudan through women’s voices, and Gulf representation across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar.
Alongside Qatar, the selected films represent France, Iraq, Canada, UK, Jordan, Tunisia, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, the USA, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Switzerland, Belgium, Libya, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa, Mozambique, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, the Netherlands, Iran, India, Norway, Denmark, Morocco, Syria, Rwanda, Yemen, 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.”
