The Palestinian films “A Letter to the Sea”, directed by Muayad Alayan, and “Gaza 13”, directed by Hossam Abu Dan, will compete in the international competition at the upcoming Doha Film Festival, where they will have their first screenings in the Middle East and North Africa. The festival will take place in Doha from 19 to 27 November 2026, after both films screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“A Letter to the Sea” travels from Venice to Doha
“A Letter to the Sea” arrives in Doha after a journey that began with its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. The film then moved to the Toronto International Film Festival, where it had its North American premiere, before being selected to compete at the Doha Film Festival, where it will have its Arab premiere.
The film is a co-production between Palestine, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It received support from several cinema institutions and funds, including the Doha Film Institute, the Hubert Bals Fund, the Netherlands Film Fund and the Red Sea Fund.
Kamal searches for the fate of his missing son
“A Letter to the Sea” is set in Jerusalem and centres on Kamal, a 60-year-old Palestinian man who receives an Israeli court order requiring him to pay a large sum to the National Insurance Institute, on the grounds that his son Wael owes the money. Kamal believes Wael drowned in the Red Sea decades ago, but discovers that the authorities have no official record confirming his son’s death. The absence of an official record prompts Kamal to begin a search for the truth about Wael’s fate and what happened to him.
Muayad Alayan and Rami Alayan co-wrote and produced the film, while Muayad Alayan directed it. The cast includes Kamel El Basha, Amer Hlehel, Ruba Blal, Haitham Omari, Bahira Abbasi, Maria Zreik, Rebecca Esmeralda Telhami and Ebla Mari. “Gaza 13” will also compete in the festival’s international competition, marking its Arab premiere after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Gaza 13” traces the impact of displacement on a Palestinian family
Through details of daily life, the film focuses on the psychological and social effects of displacement on Palestinians during the war. Set in 2025, it follows Raghd, a 13-year-old girl who loses her home and several members of her family in a bombing.
Raghd moves to a displacement camp, where she faces harsh conditions as she enters puberty, amid her mother’s absence, a lack of privacy and shortages of the basic healthcare she needs. In parallel with Raghd’s experience, her father enters the world of the black market in an attempt to secure the means of survival under the pressure of war and displacement.
This world is controlled by an influential trader named Khalil, bringing economic and social pressures into contact with the changes experienced by the girl and her family inside the camp. “Gaza 13” is Palestinian director Hossam Abu Dan’s first feature film, and he also edited and produced it. All the film’s scenes were shot in the Gaza Strip during wartime, with the participation of local Palestinian actors and crew members.
“The Station” to open the festival with a story of Yemeni women
As part of the same edition’s programme, the Doha Film Institute has selected the Yemeni film “The Station”, directed by Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq, as the opening film. It follows a group of Yemeni women brought together by a women-only petrol station, which gradually becomes a place to meet and exchange stories amid conditions imposed by the war.
“The Station” addresses family, solidarity and resilience in the face of the consequences of war. Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi, chief executive of the Doha Film Institute and director of the Doha Film Festival, said selecting the film as the opener reflected a desire to present a Yemeni story rooted in local reality but carrying universal themes capable of reaching audiences from different backgrounds.
Al Remaihi added that Sara Ishaq’s experience gives audiences an opportunity, through cinema, to engage with broader human issues.
She said opening the festival with “The Station” would allow audiences to discover a different experience and create space for dialogue about it.
