Sara Ishaq's 'The Station' Opens Doha Film Festival — SkimNews
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- "The Station" by Yemeni-Scottish director Sara Ishaq will open the Doha Film Festival (Nov. 19–27), marking the film's Middle East premiere after launching positively from Cannes Critics' Week in May
- Layal, the film's protagonist, runs a women-only gas station in Yemen serving as a safe haven during civil war, and reconnects with her estranged sister to save her younger brother from enlistment
- The film draws on real events and arrives as Yemen teeters on the edge of renewed conflict that has already killed 150,000 and pushed the country close to famine
- "The Station" features mostly non-professional Yemeni actors and is produced by Screen Project (a Ta Films Company) and Georges Films, co-produced by One Two Films, KeplerFilm, Barentsfilm, Setara Films, and The Imaginarium Films
- The Doha Film Festival has been revamped from the youth-focused Ajyal Film Festival into a broader international event with four competition strands: international features, shorts, Ajyal, and Made in Qatar
- Last year's inaugural edition opened with Kaouther Ben Hania's Gaza-set "The Voice of Hind Rajab," continuing DFI's pattern of choosing politically engaged Middle Eastern dramas as flagship titles
Why it matters: The selection reinforces DFI's emerging pattern of opening its flagship festival with politically charged regional dramas — Hind Rajab last year, now a Yemeni women-centered film. With the Ajyal-to-international revamp and four competition strands, the festival is positioning itself as a major platform for Arab and African cinema rather than a youth-and-family showcase.
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