Qatar Foundation’s 'Showtime!' Wins Two Awards at Cannes Film Festival

The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of the Qatar Foundation, contributed to the film's soundtrack. At the Cannes International Film Festival, the Qatar Foundation's musical theater film 'Showtime!' won two awards in the categories of social media and short films.

'Showtime!' also won a prize at the New York Festival for short films, as well as an award from Ofcom in London in the categories of cinematography, sound, and directing.

The idea, which was started by Qatar Foundation, is based on the fact that there is a lack of theater and musical programs in Qatar Foundation schools. As a result, Qatar Foundation launched a musical theater education program for kids of all ages in Qatar.

The show's goal is to encourage creativity in the realm of performing arts and to foster a culture of theatrical and musical performances in the foundation's pre-university schools.

The project was ready to be shown to the public within a year, but the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed its seamless implementation.

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With the support of The Edge Picture Company, the Qatar Foundation took the stage to the streets, filming choreographed musical acts and successfully broadcasting them online.

West End choreographer Christopher Piper, father and daughter team Steve Griffith as musical director and Jane Griffith as choreographer, as well as international Film Director Andrew Lancaster, led the musical elements.

The creative team consisted of 20 crew members and a cast of 55 people, all of whom were Qatar Foundation school personnel and students aged seven to 55. For many of the cast members, it was their first exposure to musical theater.

Qatar National Convention Center, Qatar Science and Technology Park, Ceremonial Court, Oxygen Park, and Qatar National Library in Education City were among the filming locations.

Additional acknowledgments

Suzannah Mirghani, a Sudanese filmmaker based in Qatar, won the ArteKino Award at Cannes Short Festival's L'Atelier 2022 for her film Cotton Queen, which was funded by the Doha Film Institute (DFI).

This arm invites 16 directors whose projects have a good chance of being produced to the Cannes Film Festival. The filmmakers, together with their producers, are given the opportunity to meet possible partners, which is an important stage in finalizing their project and beginning the production of their film.

"This is my very first feature, thank you for taking a risk on me, thank you for taking a risk on Sudan," Mirghani said in an Instagram story shared by DFI. As you may be aware, we do not have many films from Sudan; in fact, you can count them on two hands.

"There are none manufactured by women." Thank you for your help."