Latest in Qatar

The Doha Film Institute's Qumra talent and project incubator event returned as a 100% in-person event last week, bringing participants together face-to-face in Doha for the first time since it was forced online in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "It's been great to have everyone back gain. I keep…

Oscar-winning UK producer David Parfitt shared insights from the highs and lows of his 35-year producing career at a masterclass for the Doha Film Institute's Qumra talent incubator over the weekend. "I have been staggeringly lucky," said Parfitt, who won an Oscar in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love with…

UK director Lynne Ramsay has given updates on a raft of projects she has on the boil, including her fresh collaboration with Joaquin Phoenix, on the fringes of the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent incubator this weekend. She revealed that her adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s short story Stone Mattres…

Doha's new downtown Msheireb district was the throbbing heart of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as one of its main fan zones. Quiz any local on the street or in its cafes and shops about what it was like, and their faces light up as they recount how packed it was and the magical atmosphere. The…

Sundance prize winner Sofia Alaoui, Yemeni-Scottish Oscar-nominee Sara Ishaq and Emmy-feted Egyptian cinematographer Muhammad Hamdy will be among filmmakers presenting projects at the Doha Film Institute's Qumra event, unfolding in Qatar March 10-15. The nine edition of the talent incubator aimed at…

UPDATED with latest: The 6 p.m. PT replay of Monday’s World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay on Fox Sports 1 was missing 32 seconds of game time. At the 50:33 mark of the match, there is an abrupt cut from the players on the field to the back of an Uruguayan player’s head. At the same moment, the…

England’s fiery World Cup opener against Iran, which ended 6-2, was watched by a peak of 8M viewers yesterday lunchtime in the UK. The peak was similar to that of host Qatar’s opener with Ecuador. The game couldn’t come close to matching England’s first game at the Russia World Cup 2018, which hit a…

UPDATE (5 a.m. PST): Iran’s players have poignantly refused to sing their national anthem as the nation’s World Cup opener against England kicks off. Some in the crowd appeared to be jeering during the anthem, which came to the backdrop of protests over the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini in custody in…

After being overshadowed by the BBC’s focus on the human rights issues that have been surrounding the World Cup 2022, yesterday’s opener between hosts Qatar and Ecuador kicked off with a hefty peak of 8M viewers. The game, which ended 2-0 to Ecuador, was watched by an average of 6.2M across its…

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hit back at criticism of Qatar's human rights record in an extraordinary press conference in Doha, the day before the World Cup kicks off in the Middle East.  Infantino began with a singular expression of his support for the LGBTQ community and migrant…

Qatari officials have banned the sale of alcoholic beer at World Cup stadiums in an abrupt U-turn on alcohol policy just days before the tournament begins. The U-turn is the latest change in the evolving plan on alcohol sales at the tournament, which has steadily increased tensions between Fifa…

Days out from the start of FIFA’s soccer World Cup in Qatar, things are taking a turn for the surreal. Over the past 24 hours, the tournament's organizers have rejected accusations of fake fans parading in the streets in Doha, while a social media video of basic-looking accommodation has been getting…