Doha Film Festival (DFF) has named Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase as head of the international feature film competition jury for its 2026 edition, which runs November 19-27.
Kawase won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes for her 1997 debut Suzaku, before winning the festival’s Grand Prix for 2007’s The Mourning Forest. Her 2017 film Radiance won the ecumenical jury prize at Cannes, while her latest feature Yakushima’s Illusion premiered in competition at Locarno in 2025.
Joining Kawase on the jury are French Tunisian actor Adam Bessa, Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, Italian documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, and Palestinian filmmaker and artist Kamal Aljafari.
The jury will select the winner from a 15-film lineup of international titles.
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of Doha Film Institute and director of Doha Film Festival, said: “Their collective experience and artistic integrity embody the spirit of DFI and DFF: championing original voices, creating space for bold ideas and ensuring that powerful stories, find their way to audiences around the world.”
The second edition of DFF will open with the MENA premiere of Sara Ishaq’s The Station.
Doha Film Festival held its first edition last year, during which Qatar launched a 50% cash rebate, and several major international firms including Sony, Neon and Miramax signed partnerships with the country’s Film Committee.
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