Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo’s Ben’Imana is one of five features selected for the youth-focused Ajyal competition at next week’s Doha Film Festival (DFF, November 19-27).
Ben’Imana, about a genocide survivor who leads conversations between victims and families of perpetrators, won the Camera d’Or for best debut feature at Cannes this year. The film is a Rwanda-Gabon-France-Norway-Qatar production and was backed by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) in its Spring Grants funding cycle.
Scroll down for the full list of features
Also selected is Kohei Kadowaki’s animated title We Are Aliens, about two boys in a small Japanese town whose friendship is altered by an act of betrayal. It debuted in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, going on to festivals including Annecy, Melbourne, Sao Paulo and Tokyo.
The Ajyal lineup also has a 12-strong short film competition, with titles including Dorothea Sing Zhang’s China-UK co-production As A Cure about a young girl searching for the identity card she needs to enrol at an opera academy.
The winners in both competitions will be selected by a jury of young people aged 16-25.
“Young people are not simply the audience of tomorrow; they are voices, visionaries and storytellers shaping our world today,” said Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, DFI CEO and DFF festival director. “This is evident in the growth of the Ajyal jurors who are now curators and moderators, sharing the power of cinema to create a space to celebrate their individuality and affirm that their voices matter.”
The festival will open with Sara Ishaq’s Yemeni feature The Station, playing in the international competition from which a jury headed by Naomi Kawase will select winners.
DFF 2026 Ajyal Film Competition features
Ben’Imana (Rwa-Gab-Fr-Nor-Qat) dir. Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo
Gabin (Fr-Ger-Switz) dir. Maxence Voiseux
Out Of School (Mor-Den) dir. Hind Bensari
Summer Meadow (Bel-Fr) dirs. Nael Khlefi, Lisa Debauche
We Are Aliens (Japan-Fr) dir. Kohei Kadowaki
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