Qatar’s Doha Movie Pageant To Open With Yemeni Drama ‘The Station’

Qatar’s Doha Movie Pageant has introduced The Station – set towards the backdrop of a women-only petrol station in war-torn Yemen – because the opening movie of its second version this November.

The drama, which world premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week in Could, is the primary fiction characteristic of Yemeni Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq.

She beforehand made waves with the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated brief documentary Karama Has No Partitions (2012) concerning the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, adopted by The Mulberry Home concerning the director’s return to her childhood residence in Yemen in her 20s after a decade residing in Scotland.

Described by pageant organizer the Doha Movie Institute as “a daring and deeply human story of resilience, sisterhood and solidarity”, The Station revolves round petrol station proprietor Layal (Manal Al-Mulaiki) who reigns over a uncommon sanctuary the place girls collect for gas, dialog and moments of respite from the realities surrounding them.

When Layal’s youthful brother faces enlistment, she is compelled to reconnect together with her estranged sister to avoid wasting him.

Al-Mulaiki is joined within the solid by Abeer Mohammed, Rashad Khaled, Saleh Al-marshahi, Fariha Hassan, Randa Mohammed, Fatima Muthanna, Amal Esmail and Shorooq Mohammed.

“The world of The Station distils what I like and cherish about Yemen right into a fragile utopia, always overshadowed by turmoil past its partitions. At its core, this movie is about individuals in all their complexity, contradictions and humanity. It’s an ode to the individuals of Yemen, who’ve endured years of warfare with dignity and power,” mentioned Ishaq.

The United Nations has described the scenario in Yemen as one in all “the world’s most extreme humanitarian and growth crises”, because the 40 million-strong inhabitants grapples with the results of an ongoing civil battle in addition to, in more moderen years, local weather change which has seen the nation hit by each floods and drought.

The DFI’s announcement of The Station as its opening movie confirms that the institute is pushing on with the pageant’s second version despite the troublesome geopolitical scenario within the Gulf sparked by the U.S.-Israel-Iran warfare.

The announcement follows scorching on the heels of neighboring Saudi Arabia’s determination to cancel the 2026 version of its Pink Sea Worldwide Movie Pageant, as a consequence of happen in Jeddah in December, following “a overview” amid a ratcheting up within the battle between the nation and the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen, in addition to persevering with tensions with Iran.

The DFI mentioned that the launch of the 2026 version of its pageant with a narrative “deeply rooted in place and common in its themes” was a reminder “that even in probably the most troublesome circumstances, cinema can create an area for connection, dignity and hope.”

The Station has sturdy connections with the DFI as a recipient of its grants programme. Forward of being chosen for Cannes Critics’ Week, it gained 5 awards at Ultimate Reduce in Venice 2025, together with the La Biennale di Venezia Award for Finest Movie in Publish-Manufacturing.

“The Station embodies the spirit of cinema we consider in at Doha Movie Institute — tales not often heard that cross borders and remind us of our shared humanity. Sara Ishaq has created a movie of extraordinary braveness and tenderness, reworking a narrative rooted in Yemen into one which speaks to audiences in all places,” mentioned DFI CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, who can also be director of the pageant.

“In opening Doha Movie Pageant 2026 with The Station, we’re opening an area for dialogue, connection and a deeper understanding of the world by way of the ability of movie.”

A Yemeni, Jordanian, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian and Qatari coproduction, the movie is produced by Display Mission (a Ta Movies firm), in co-production with Georges Movies, One Two Movies, KeplerFilm, BarentsFilm, Setara Movies and The Imaginarium Movies. Paris-based Paradise Metropolis handles gross sales.

“On this time of uncertainty in our beloved area, our means to come back collectively and help our personal narrative is important. The Station is a testomony to that solidarity. The movie acquired invaluable help from Doha Movie Institute, and to now have fun it right here, collectively, at Doha Movie Pageant, is a very particular second for all of us,” mentioned lead producer Nadia Eliewat, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ishaq.

Launched final 12 months by the DFI, the Doha Movie Pageant was constructed on the foundations of its long-running family-focused cinema occasion Ajyal, which ran for greater than a decade throughout the identical interval.

Unfolding in varied areas throughout the Qatari capital of Doha together with the Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb Downtown Doha, and the Museum of Islamic Artwork, it options an Worldwide Competitors, providing greater than $300,000 in prize cash, in addition to the excessive profile Business Days, run together with the Qatar Movie Committee.

The second Doha Movie Pageant will run from November 19 to 27.