Qatar’s Doha Film Festival announces that “The Station,” a drama set in war-torn Yemen, will open the festival’s second edition this November. Multiple outlets report the film centers on Layal, who runs a women-only petrol station that functions as a safe haven amid the country’s civil war. The announcements also describe the project as Sara Ishaq’s first fiction feature.
Variety and Deadline add that the film made its world premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week in May, and that it is led by Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq. Both sources frame the festival screening as a Middle East premiere associated with the event’s revamped format, while giving similar details about the story’s setting and themes. The outlets differ mainly in how they position the festival’s timeline and emphasis, but they agree on the film choice and its core premise. Variety specifies the festival dates, reporting a run from Nov. 19 to 27 in Doha.
