Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi
A prestigious award has now been added to Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi‘s impressive list of accolades. The Doha Film Institute (DFI) CEO has become one of the select few individuals to be awarded the Officier de L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Government. The civilian honor is one of four “ministerial orders” through which the French Ministry of Culture recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the world of arts and culture. Its three ranks are commander, officer, and knight (chevalier). Other notable honorees from the Arab world are Fairuz (Commander, in 1988), His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah (Knight, in 2003), Majida El Roumi (Officer, in 2013), and Farrah El Dibany (Knight, in 2022).
Upon receiving the honor, Al Remaihi received heartfelt congratulations from her industry peers, including HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, founder of DFI. Thanking her and others, Al Remaihi says, “This is the fruits of the hard work done by all the team at Doha Film Institute and the extended family of filmmakers, mentors, partners, participants, and more. I look forward to many more achievements in arts and film in the name of Qatar.”
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Al Remaihi has held the position of CEO since 2014, and has gone on to uplift emerging filmmakers in Qatar and beyond, to help the regional film industry be at par with the best in the world. “I believe that film as a medium is strongly related to the rich storytelling tradition of the Arab world,” Al Remaihi previously shared with Vogue Arabia. “Look at our classics: the stories, despite being handed down over generations by word of mouth, are rich in visual elements.” The DFI provides networking and collaborative opportunities, financing, and more, while Al Remaihi guides the overall direction of the institute, focusing on the promotion of film culture in Qatar. “In this new golden age of Arab cinema, the institute supports globally acclaimed stories and important new voices to increase diversity in perspectives and encourage cross-cultural dialogue,” she shared. “At the Doha Film Institute, we believe that arts and films are powerful tools to bridging mutual understanding between people.”
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