Doha - Qatar

A tourist no longer enters a museum only to stop in front of a painting or artifact and then leave. In Doha, his tour of the Museum of Islamic Art’s collections could end by sitting in front of a cinema screen and watching a Sudanese film that won international awards. In an experiment that reveals how the function of museums is changing from places for preserving the past to cultural destinations where the visitor experiences more than one experience during a single trip.

Cinema enters the museum

Today, September 23, the Museum of Islamic Art begins showing the film “Cotton Queen” by Sudanese director Susana Mirghani as part of the Doha Film Institute’s “Contemporary Releases” program, and the screenings continue until September 26 at seven in the evening. The opening screening also includes a dialogue session with the director, which transforms watching the film from a traditional cinematic activity into a direct cultural encounter.

The experience does not come separate from the place; The DFI Cinema program is presented in cooperation with cultural institutions, including the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar Museums, and Katara, and includes independent, contemporary and classic films, and Qatari and Gulf works.

From Sudan to Doha
As for the film itself, it takes the viewer to a Sudanese cotton-growing village, where teenager Nafisa finds herself between traditions, change, and the future of her village. It is Mirghani's first feature film, and the first feature work written and directed by a Sudanese woman, according to the Doha Film Institute.

The film also arrived in Doha after a remarkable festival run; It was shown at the Critics' Week at the Venice Film Festival, and won the Best Film Award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, in addition to the Audience Award at the Doha Film Festival.

The museum becomes a full-day destination

Here the tourist value of the experience appears. The visitor no longer has to choose between the museum and the cinema. When museums host cinematic shows, workshops, dialogues, and events, the visitor’s stay lengthens and the cultural building itself turns into a destination that can be returned to more than once.

It is noteworthy that on September 26, the museum will also host a short documentary film-making workshop that uses the architecture of the Museum of Islamic Art itself as a subject for filming. Thus, cinema does not only enter the museum, but the museum becomes part of the image making.

For the Arab tourist
For the visitor to Doha, this model offers a different way to build a tourist day: visiting the museum’s collections and enjoying its architectural location, then attending a movie or cultural activity in the same place. This is exactly what makes the museum go beyond the idea of ​​a “two-hour visit” to become part of the city’s cultural life.