The Ajyal Family Weekend 2017 is expected to attract a large number of families and children today at the Katara Esplanade, which features an array of fun-filled activities and film screenings for all ages.
The three-day programme, running until tomorrow as part of the fifth Ajyal Youth Film Festival, gives festival-goers an opportunity to watch family-friendly films at the ‘Sony Cinema Under the Stars’ outdoor screenings for free from 3pm to 10pm tomorrow.
Some of the films include ‘10%’ by Yousef al-Moadhadi, ‘Charlie’ by Ali Ali, ‘Drain’ by Papanapattu Ganesh and Imad Hachem, ‘The Palm Tree’ by Jassim al-Rumaihi and ‘My Hero’ by Nora al-Subai.
Ajyal’s special screening of ‘The Smurfs’ (US/English/2011) today will offer children a blue carpet treatment at the festival. Directed by Raja Gosnell, the 103-minute film is a popular anime film that marks the 60th anniversary of everyone’s favourite blue friends.
Cinema and music enthusiasts can also enjoy ‘My Little Beasts’, a world-premiere cine-concert tomorrow and on Sunday, featuring short animated films accompanied by live music by Anthony Boulc’h and Fanch Minou’s.
The cine-concert includes the screening of ‘The Boy and the Snow Goose’ (Canada/1984) by Gayle Thomas, ‘Change in the Weather’ (US/2010) by Amelia Lorenz, ‘The Girl and the Fox’ (US/2011) by Tyler Kupferer and ‘Rain and Fish’ (Japan/2010) by Risa Kimpara, among others.
Apart from film screenings, Ajyal 2017 also treats festival-goers, especially children, with a pop culture feast called Geekdom. It engages participants in art activities, live video game tournaments, a comic-a-thon competition and cosplay day, among others.
Geekdom, located at Katara buildings 18 and 19, runs until December 4 from 10am to 10pm. Entry is free.
Doha Film Institute (DFI) is also holding LeBlockade, a multimedia exhibition of films, digital artworks and installations that showcase “a creative movement†that emerged after the blockade started.
The exhibition, according to DFI, celebrates and portrays the resiliency and strength of the Qatari art community. It is open from 2pm to 10pm at building 19. The festival also began discussing a number of interesting topics and issues yesterday at Ajyal Talks, featuring renowned social media personalities.
Titled ‘Perceptions: Media Influencers on our Daily Lives’, the talk has seen speakers sharing their views on the current state of the media and how it impacts people’s lives. Today at 6pm, Shoug Shaheen and Abdulaziz Youssef, well-known members of the Qatari film community, together with the director of Sarajevo Film Festival, Mirsad Purivatra, will share their experience of “how periods of struggle can spark social movements and inspire compelling works of art†in the second round of Ajyal Talks dubbed as ‘How Art Beats Adversity’. The venue is Katara Drama Theatre.
Source: Gulf Times
