Doha Film Festival Standouts

In the 2025 edition of the Doha Film Festival, the lineup of films is full of diverse regional talent. With a range of Muslim and Arab countries represented, each film makes an effort to portray the climate of each country in its entirety, putting the beauty of family, culture, and community alongside unique and undeniable systemic issues. Rounding up a few standout films, they act as more than an intimate look into another culture but a reminder of the social politics that inherently influence and frame all art.

Khartoum:

Khartoum is a documentary following the lives of five residents of the Sudanese city of Khartoum in the midst of the current crisis in Sudan. The directors, Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, and Philip Cox, filmed much of the movie using iPhones throughout the 2023 mass displacement of over 10 million Sudanese people. Although it is a documentary, the film does not rely on numbers and political theory, but rather creates storylines out of personal and anecdotal stories. Each individual featured contributes a moving experience, and the film brings a humanizing perspective to current conversations surrounding Sudan. 

Writing Hawa:

Directed by Najiba Noori, Writing Hawa follows the story of a Hazara household and family in Kabul before and during the Taliban’s return in 2021. The main focus of the film is Noori’s mother, Hawa, and her relationship with education and personal autonomy as she starts a business and learns to read in her fifties. Being married as a child, Hawa spent the majority of her life illiterate. Robbed of these opportunities in her youth, her current livelihood is put under threat once again after the Taliban returns to power. This intimate portrayal of the director’s family speaks not only to her personal experiences but also calls attention to the broader sociopolitical issues in the country. 

The Voice of Hind Rajab:

Premiering at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival with one of the longest standing ovations in modern festival history, The Voice of Hind Rajab is arguably one of the most critically acclaimed films showing at DFF 2025. With an extensive list of high-profile producers, this film was intended to capture as much attention as possible regarding the reality in Gaza. The documentary regretted the moment a six-year-old Gazan girl, Hind Rajab, calls emergency responders as she is trapped in a car, a car that was shot at 335 times. The actors act alongside a recording of her voice in the original call, creating an intimate and horrific memorial.