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Doha Film Festival names 2026 jury headed by Naomi Kawase

Japanese director Naomi Kawase will preside over the main competition jury of the second Doha Film Festival, running 19–27 November in Qatar, alongside four other film figures.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Deadline
Image: Variety

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Japanese director Naomi Kawase will head the jury for the main international competition of the second Doha Film Festival, which runs from 19 to 27 November in the Qatari capital. Mixed · 2The other jurors are French-Tunisian actor Adam Bessa, Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, Italian documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi and Palestinian filmmaker and artist Kamal Aljafari. Centre · 1The jury will decide the winners from a 15-film line-up of international titles from the Arab world, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, according to Deadline.

Mixed · 2Kawase, based in Nara, won the Caméra d'Or at Cannes for her debut feature Suzaku and later won awards there for The Mourning Forest (2007) and Radiance/Hikari (2017); her latest feature, Yakushima's Illusion, premiered in competition at Locarno in 2025. Variety adds that she served on the 2013 Cannes competition jury. Mixed · 2Both outlets note Kawase's earlier ties to the Doha Film Institute (DFI), which she joined in 2016 as a mentor of emerging filmmakers in its Qumra programme; Deadline says Rosi was a Qumra Master in 2018. Centre · 1Deadline reports that DFI supported Bessa's films Harka, Who Do I Belong To and Parallel Tales, and Aljafari's A Fidai Film and With Hasan in Gaza, and is backing his forthcoming Beirut 1931; With Hasan in Gaza won Best Artistic Achievement at the 2025 Doha Film Festival.

Mixed · 2DFI CEO and festival director Fatma Hassan Alremaihi said the institute was "immensely proud to welcome friends of the Institute who share our vision and have dedicated their lives to nurturing independent cinema." Mixed · 2The festival expands the DFI's Ajyal Film Festival, which was aimed at youth and families, into a broader international event. Left · 1Variety reports the top prizes: best narrative $75,000, documentary $50,000, artistic achievement $45,000 and a gender-neutral performance award $15,000. It also says Sara Ishaq's "The Station", about the impact of Yemen's civil war, was previously announced as the in-competition opener.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Variety presents a trade-press announcement centred on Kawase's stature, her Cannes record and her link to DFI, and adds the prize money and opening film.
Emphasis
Kawase's career and jury experience, prize amounts, the opening film The Station.
Leaves out or plays down
Less detail on the other jurors' careers, the 15-film line-up and DFI's support for their films.
Charged language
“auteur”“rapidly emerging”“pioneering”
For example
“Japanese auteur and Cannes regular Naomi Kawase will preside over the main competition jury” — Variety
“rapidly emerging French-Tunisian actor Adam Bessa” — Variety

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Deadline gives a detailed announcement-style profile of each juror, with extended quotes from DFI's CEO.
Emphasis
Each juror's career and prizes, and their past DFI support and Qumra roles; the 15-film line-up.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not give prize amounts or name the opening film.
Charged language
“one of the Arab world’s most influential film producers”
For example
“Bouchoucha is one of the Arab world’s most influential film producers and a longstanding advocate for emerging filmmakers.” — Deadline
“The jury will decide the winning films from the 15-film line-up” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

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