The Doha Film Institute has added Oscar-winning production designer Eugenio Caballero and Italian director Alice Rohrwacher to the lineup of top talents who will hold master classes and act as mentors during its Qumra event which blends creative workshop and festival elements.
They join previously announced prominent directors Agnès Varda, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Pawel Pawlikowski as Qumra 2019 Masters. Caballero won an Oscar for “Pan’s Labyrinth,” and is nominated this year for Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.” Rohrwacher has won prizes in Cannes with “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro.”
Caballero will be the first production designer to attend the event.
Qumra, which is an Arab word believed to be the origin of the word “camera,” is dedicated to supporting and shepherding first and second works by Arab directors. The mentors, through one-on-one meetings and master classes, will nurture the talent attached to 36 projects from 19 countries that are in development or post-production.
Director and producer teams in Doha will meet over 100 industry experts, including reps from most major festivals. Projects in development will take part in group and individual sessions in script consulting, marketing and co-production advice, along with individual matchmaking. Projects in post-production are presented in a series of closed rough-cut and picture lock screenings for leading festival programmers, broadcasters, market representatives, sales agents and distributors.
The event’s fifth edition runs March 15-20 in Doha.