Doha Film Festival has selected five titles for the international feature film competition at its inaugural edition, including Chie Hayakawa’s R
Doha Film Festival has selected five titles for the international feature film competition at its inaugural edition, including Chie Hayakawa’s Renoir.
The films will play as part of the festival from November 20-28, at venues including the Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb Downton Doha, and the Museum of Islamic Art.
Scroll down for the full list of titles
Also selected for the section are Guillermo Garcia Lopez’s Sleepless City; Jean-Francois Ravagnan’s The Last Shore; Pablo Perez Lombardini’s The Reserve; and Ali Asgari’s Divine Comedy.
Set in Tokyo in 1987, Renoir follows a quirky and sensitive 11-year-old girl coping with a terminally ill father and stressed-out working mother, while encountering other adults dealing with their own struggles.
The film debuted in Competition at Cannes this year, going on to play festivals including Karlovy Vary, Toronto and Busan.
Sleepless City launched in Cannes Critics’ Week, with The Last Shore premiering in Visions du Reel, The Reserve starting at Ventana Sur and Divine Comedy starting in Venice’s Horizons section.
“The films in the International Feature Film Competition share a deep commitment to authentic storytelling and reflect our shared belief in the transformative power of film,” said Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, festival director and CEO of the Doha Film Institute (DFI).
Renoir, Sleepless City, The Last Shore and The Reserve were all funded through the DFI’s grants programme.
At a launch during Cannes this year, the festival said that over $300,000 in competition prizes would be on offer across four competitive strands. Further films for the festival’s first edition will be announced in the coming weeks. The festival will open with Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Void Of Hind Rajab.
Doha Film Festival 2025 international competition
Renoir (Japan-Fr-Sing-Phil-Indo-Qat) dir. Chie Hayakawa
Sleepless City (Sp-Fr-Qat)
The Last Shore (Bel-Fr-Qat)
The Reserve (Mex-Qat)
Divine Comedy (Iran-It-Fr-Ger-Tur)
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