DOHA: The Academy Award winning Mexican production designer, Eugenio Caballero and the acclaimed Italian writer and director, Alice Rohrwacher, have been confirmed as additional Masters in the fifth edition of the Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) Qumra, to be held on March 15 to 20.
Caballero is celebrated for his work on diverse projects including Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth for which he earned an Academy Award while Rohrwacher was winner of the Grand Jury prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Born in Mexico City, Caballero, credits include nearly 30 films, 20 of them as a designer. He is nominated at this year’s Academy Awards for the film Roma directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Among other directors he has worked with are Jim Jarmusch (The Limit of Control), Baz Lurhman (Romeo and Juliet), Sebastian Cordero (Cronicas, Rabia and Europa Report) and Floria Sigismondi (The Runaways).
Rohrwacher directed Le Meraviglie (The Wonders), winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Born in 1981 in Fiesole, she has worked in music and documentary projects as well as an editor and composer for theatre. Her first feature Corpo Celeste made its world premiere in the Directors Fortnight in Cannes 2011. Caballero and Rohrwacher join French New Wave cinema legend Agnès Varda, prolific Japanese director and writer Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Polish auteur Pawel Pawlikowski for the 2019 edition of DFI’s dedicated industry incubation and talent development event that focuses on first- and second-time filmmakers.
The Qumra Masters will share their insights with emerging filmmakers, provide feedback on projects in consultation sessions, and discuss their own inspiring creative journeys in daily Masterclasses.
Qumra 2019 will provide 36 projects from 19 countries access to Masterclasses and networking opportunities for first and second-time filmmakers, driving Qumra’s mission to expand support for the development of emerging filmmakers from Qatar, the Arab region and around the world.
Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi, Chief Executive Officer of DFI, said: “We are proud to welcome Eugenio Caballero and Alice Rohrwacher to the Qumra line-up. They have distinctive bodies of work that distinguish them for their unique creative voice and cinematic expertise. All visionaries in film, the Qumra Masters will make incredible contributions to benefit emerging filmmakers.”
Hanaa Issa, Deputy Director of Qumra, said: “We are excited to share the experiences of these amazing artists with young filmmakers from the region and beyond. Their personal perspectives on filmmaking will provide meaningful and lasting benefit to all participants and open up a new depth of understanding and possibilities in their discussions.”
Over six days, the Qumra delegates will take part in bespoke industry sessions designed to progress their projects and prepare them for international markets, in addition to the Masterclasses and mentoring sessions by the Qumra Masters.
