Doha Film Festival Unveils 2026 Jury Headed By Naomi Kawase

Japanese director Naomi Kawase has been unveiled as the head of the jury for the main international competition of the upcoming second edition of the Doha Film Festival in November.

She will be joined by French Tunisian actor Adam Bessa, Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, Italian documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi and award-winning Palestinian filmmaker and artist Kamal Aljafari.

The jury will decide the winning films from the 15-film line-up of international titles, from across the Arab world, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Born and based in Nara, Japan, Cannes regular Kawase became the youngest recipient of its Caméra d’Or for her debut feature, Suzaku, before winning the Grand Prix for The Mourning Forest (2007). Her film Radiance (2017) received the Ecumenical Jury Prize at Cannes, while her latest feature, Yakushima’s Illusion (2025), premiered in competition at Locarno.

She has previously been a guest of the Doha Film Institute, which is overseeing the festival, as one of the so-called Masters in 2016 of the body’s annual Qumra event, mentoring emerging filmmakers from Qatar and beyond.

Actor Bessa broke out internationally in Lotfy Nathan’s Harka (2022), which earned him the Best Performance Award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and Best Actor at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

He subsequently starred in Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To (2024), which competed at the Berlinale, and Jonathan Millet’s Ghost Trail, earning further acclaim and a César nomination. In 2026, he appeared in Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales. DFI supported all three of his films, Harka, Who Do I Belong To and Parallel Tales.

Bouchoucha is one of the Arab world’s most influential film producers and a longstanding advocate for emerging filmmakers. Working under the banner of her 30-year-old company Nomadis Images in 1995, her credits include Satin Rouge, Inhebbek Hedi, Weldi, Behind the Mountains, Souad and Aisha Can’t Fly Away.

Rosi is the only documentary filmmaker to have won both the Golden Lion at Venice and the Golden Bear at Berlin. His film Sacro GRA (2013) became the first documentary to win Venice’s Golden Lion, while Fire at Sea (2016), filmed on the island of Lampedusa, won the Golden Bear and the European Film Award and received an Academy Award nomination. His documentary Notturno (2020) was presented in competition at Venice, and Below the Clouds (2025) won the festival’s Special Jury Prize. He was a also DFI Qumra Master in 2018.

Aljafari is recognized for his distinctive cinematic practice exploring memory, history, identity and the politics of images. His feature A Fidai Film (2024) won the Jury Prize in the Burning Lights Competition at Visions du Réel and the Tanit d’Or at Carthage. His documentary With Hasan in Gaza (2025) received Best Artistic Achievement at Doha Film Festival. Both films were supported by DFI, which is also backing his forthcoming feature Beirut 1931.

“Independent cinema is where the most vital, courageous and transformative stories of our time find their voice. It is our responsibility to protect the creative freedom to challenge conventions, bring overlooked perspectives to the screen and build bridges across cultures,” said Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of Doha Film Institute and Director of Doha Film Festival.

“We are immensely proud to welcome friends of the Institute who share our vision and have dedicated their lives to nurturing independent cinema. 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 Doha Film Festival, which expands on the DFI’s long-running family-focused festival of Ajyal which ran for more than a decade during the same period, will unfold from November 19 to 27.