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The Doha Film Institute (DFI)

Website:

www.dohafilm.com/en%20
Location:

Doha, Qatar
Type:

Film Production Institute
Formation:

2020
CEO:

Fatma Al-Remaihi

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The Doha Film Institute (DFI) is a film production organization founded in Doha, Qatar in 2010 by Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, the sister of Qatar’s ruling emir. 1  2 DFI provides funding, consulting, and training for filmmakers both within Qatar and internationally. It also hosts an annual film festival, the Doha Film Festival. 1  3

A 2025 New York Post exposé revealed connections between the Doha Film Institute and anti-Israel filmmaker Mira Nair, the mother of 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. The exposé tied Nair to the Qatari royal family, the Qatar gas and oil industry, and the Qatari event planning group Agence Publics Qatar (APQ), all of which have supported Nair’s films and projects along with the Doha Film Institute. 2

Activities

The Doha Film Institute’s  primary initiative is to fund and help produce films and organize film festivals. 1 DFI also offers filmmaking training to film students through workshop labs, youth film programming, and mentorship programs that connect novice filmmakers with established producers and directors and one-on-one film consulting. 4  5 The organization also maintains a regular cinema schedule throughout the year for screening films. 6

DFI offers several funding opportunities for filmmakers in the form of grants, the Qatari Film Fund, and co-financing options. Grants are available for feature films, short films, TV fiction, and creative documentary series. 7 The Qatari Film Fund was launched in 2015 and finances up to eight short films, offering development and production support. 8 Co-financing is available to support what DFI defines as “culturally relevant film projects through strategic partnerships” with other investors. 9

In 2024, the Doha Film Institute supported 94 projects, including 39 feature narratives, 21 documentary series, 19 shorts, and nine TV series. Of DFI’s projects, 80 were led by filmmakers in the Middle East and North Africa region, including nine from Qatar. 10 In its history, DFI has supported over 900 projects which have received over 600 awards and 10 Oscar nominations, including over 65 awards for Qatari films at more than 100 regional and international film festivals. 1

DFI’s central film festival, the Doha Film Festival, is held annually. It was formerly known as the Ajyal Film Festival and mostly focused on youth and family-friendly cinema. In May 2025, DFI announced its annual festival under its new name, the Doha Film Festival, and unveiled the new direction of the festival. The 2025 Doha Film Festival was scheduled to take place from November 20-28, 2025. 11  3  12

DFI also maintains a notable following on social media: as of 2025, it had amassed more than 215,000 followers on Facebook and over 80,000 followers on Instagram. 13  14

Partner Organizations

In August 2025, the Doha Film Institute (DFI) announced a partnership with cinema powerhouse Miramax to support the development of Arabic-language scripted content across the Middle East and North Africa. The partnership will also include training, mentorship and production and distribution funding for Arab screenwriters. 15

DFI has several other Qatar-based partner institutions, including Qatar Airways, Qommunication, Katara, Years of Culture, the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar Museums Aspire Park, and VOX Cinemas Qatar. 16  17  18

Pro-Palestinian Films

Several of the projects Doha Film Institute (DFI) sponsors advance pro-Palestinian narratives. In 2024, DFI organized a screening program titled “Voices From Palestine” that featured films by Palestinian filmmakers. DFI expressed its support for Palestinians, claiming it stood “in solidarity with Palestinians” in a time of “profound collective mourning and reflection.” 10

Examples of pro-Palestinian films include With Hasan in Gaza, which depicts the ways Gaza has changed since 2001; Once Upon a Time in Gaza, a story of law, corruption, and conflict; and the Teacher, which depicts the daily struggles in the West Bank under “Israeli occupation.” 19  20  21

Connection to Mira Nair

In August 2025, the New York Post published an exposé revealing the connections between the government of Qatar, several private companies, and Mira Nair, the mother of New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Nair is a longtime filmmaker, and several of her films have been criticized as anti-Israel. Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, the sister of Qatar’s ruling emir, and the state-funded cultural institutions she reportedly controls have supported Nair and her films since at least 2009, even underwriting a film training course for Qatari students in screenwriting and filmmaking at Nair’s Maisha Film Labs in East Africa and in Doha. Al-Thani also extended Nair a personal invitation to participate in the cultural program the country organized as part of the festivities around hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 2

According to the Post report, from 2010 until 2014 the Doha Film Institute (DFI), which was founded by Al-Thani, underwrote a training camp for Qatari students in screenwriting and filmmaking at Nair’s Maisha Film Labs in East Africa and in Doha. DFI also paid the $15 million budget of Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a 2012 film which the Post reported had previously struggled to obtain financing. The film recounts the story of a Pakistani immigrant living in the United States after 9/11; it premiered at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in 2012. 2

Leadership

Fatma Hassan Alremaihi was appointed CEO of the Doha Film Institute in 2014. As of 2025, she oversaw the strategic direction of the Institute and was director of the Institute’s annual film events, Qumra and the Doha Film Festival (formerly the Ajyal Film Festival). Alremaihi was ranked among the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global entertainment industry by Variety International in its 2017-2019 editions and was also profiled in Variety’s International Women’s Impact Report in 2018 and 2021. She is a member of the board of trustees for the inaugural Doha Award for Drama Writing. Alremaihi graduated from Qatar University with a degree in English Literature. 22

References

  1. “About Us.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/about-dfi
  2. Bredderman, Will. “Oh mama! Qatar bankrolled over a decade worth of films directed by Zohran Mamdani’s mom.” New York Post. August 31, 2025. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://nypost.com/2025/08/31/us-news/qatar-bankrolled-years-worth-of-films-by-zohran-mamdanis-mom/
  3. Vivarelli, Nick. “Doha Film Institute Launches Ambitious International Festival for Indie Cinema With $300,000 in Prizes. Variety. May 17, 2025. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://variety.com/2025/film/festivals/doha-film-institute-launches-festival-indie-cinema-1236401503/
  4. “Learning.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/learning-training/learning
  5. “Development Programmes.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/learning-training/learning/development-programmes
  6. “Cinema.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/watch-discover/cinema
  7. “Grants.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/funding-industry/funding/grants
  8. “Qatari Film Fund.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/funding-industry/funding/qff
  9. “Co-Finance.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/funding-industry/funding/co-finance
  10. “DOHA FILM INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2024.” Doha Film Insitute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://media.dohafilm.com/sites/default/files/prod/2025-09/DFI2024AnnualReport-EN.pdf
  11. Baniya, Sudesh. “Doha Film Institute to reveal details of new film festival in Cannes Doha News. April 10, 2025. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://dohanews.co/doha-film-institute-to-reveal-details-of-new-film-festival-in-cannes/
  12. “Doha Film Festival 2025.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/watch-discover/dff
  13. “Doha Film Institute.” Facebook. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/DohaFilmInstitute/
  14. “@dohafilm.” Instagram. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/dohafilm/?hl=en
  15. Vivarelli, Nick “Miramax Forges Partnership With Doha Film Institute to Support Arabic Scripted Content.” IMDB. August 19, 2025. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65435524/
  16. “About Us – Our Global & Regional Partners.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/about-dfi
  17. “DFI Cinema.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/watch-discover/cinema/dfi-cinema
  18. “DFI at VOX.” Doha Film Institute. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/watch-discover/cinema/dfi-at-vox
  19. “Doha Film Institute Announces 45 Recipients of 2025 Spring Grants Cycle.” Doha Film Institute. June 24, 2025. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/press/press-releases/doha-film-institute-announces-45-recipients-2025-spring-grants-cycle
  20. “Eight Diverse Films Supported by Doha Film Institute Selected for 2025 Cannes Film Festival.” Doha Film Institute. May 5, 2025. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.dohafilm.com/en/press/press-releases/eight-diverse-films-supported-doha-film-institute-selected-2025-cannes-film
  21. Qarjouli, Asmahan. “DFI-funded film based in Palestine to make world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.” Doha News. August 6, 2023. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://dohanews.co/dfi-funded-film-based-in-palestine-to-make-world-premiere-at-toronto-international-film-festival/
  22. “Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi – CEO, Doha Film Institute.” Qatar Foundation. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.wise-qatar.org/biography/fatma-al-remaihi/
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