Mathaf film series reimagines history

Welcome to AL-MONITOR Doha.

This week in Doha, four films at Mathaf turn the museum into something closer to a classroom, tracing revolutions, resource wars and buried histories. A few streets over, Geekend takes the opposite approach entirely: three days of costumes, art markets and karaoke. A comedian pulls no punches at Souq Waqif, an orchestra trades Tchaikovsky for Shostakovich mid-concert and a jewelry exhibition turns Doha into a magnet for collectors from more than 175 countries.

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Reve

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Doha's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: ‘Mathaf in Motion’

A still from Wael Shawky’s “Drama 1882” (2024). (Photo courtesy of Mathaf)

Four screenings, four very different ways of looking at history. Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art, is launching “Mathaf in Motion,” a film series running through December that uses artists’ cinema to dig into power, memory and the systems we live within, alongside the museum’s broader exhibitions and programming this season.

It opens on Sept. 15 with Wael Shawky’s “Drama 1882,” a film opera reimagining Egypt’s 1882 Urabi Revolution and the British occupation that followed. The work was originally created for the Egyptian Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale.

October brings Raqs Media Collective’s “Provisions for Everybody,” a journey through England, India, Myanmar and Spain inspired by George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier,” questioning who gets to keep what as resources run thin.

In November, two films by Akram Zaatari turn to memory and conflict in Lebanon, one following a resistance fighter’s buried letter, the other examining how family photographs carry the weight of displacement and war.

The series closes in December with Bahar Noorizadeh’s pair of films revisiting Soviet history, part science-fiction essay, part meditation on the futures that never happened.

It is a lineup built for anyone who wants their evening at the museum to leave them with more questions than answers.

Date: Sept. 5 - Oct. 5

Location: Al Hosh Gallery, Marina Way 1

Find more information here.

2. Word on the street: Geekend 2026

The Geekdom Building on Lusail Boulevard, a hub for creativity, community and pop culture in Qatar. (Photo courtesy of Doha Film Institute)

Three days, every fandom, one building. Geekend, Qatar’s biggest pop culture event, comes back to the Geekdom Building on Lusail Boulevard this October, and this edition puts artists front and center with a floor full of art-led activities and competitions layered on top of everything fans already show up for.

Expect the Geekend Market stacked with original art, crafts and collectibles from local creators, a brand new take on the fan-favorite escape room and a mix of board games, side quests, workshops and community art walls to explore at your own pace. The stage keeps things loud with trivia, karaoke and live moments throughout the weekend, and cosplay remains very much part of the deal. Floor activities run the full three hours until closing, whether you show up right at opening or wander in after dinner.

Date: Oct. 1-3

Location: Geekdom Building, Lusail Boulevard

Find more information here.

3. Doha diary

 Comedian John Achkar. (Photo courtesy of John Achkar)

• ‘Feena Nehke?’ John Achkar Live in Doha

After four specials and more than 150,000 tickets sold, John Achkar is back, and this time he isn't holding much back. His most personal Arabic special to date digs into identity, family, faith and the contradictions that shaped him — comedy that stays funny while getting uncomfortably close to home. If you think you already know the man behind the mic, this show is built to change your mind.

Date: Sept. 25

Location: Souq Waqif, Abdul Aziz Nasser Theater

Find more information here.

• Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition

The Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE) returns with a refreshed layout and its usual impressive scale, drawing an estimated 30,000 visitors and more than 500 brands from over 175 countries to the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. Featuring daily industry talks, a curated retail experience and enough high-end sparkle to fill 33,000 square meters, it is less a shopping trip than an event in its own right — especially for anyone with even a passing interest in fine jewelry and watches.

Date: Sept. 28 - Oct. 3

Location: Doha Exhibition and Convention Center

Find more information here.

• QPO Presents: Tchaikovsky’s ‘Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture’

Conductor Nader Abbasi leads the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra through a program built on drama and contrast. The evening opens with Tchaikovsky’s “Polonaise” from Eugene Onegin before moving into the sweeping “Romeo and Juliet: Fantasy Overture,” his musical take on Shakespeare’s doomed lovers. After the intermission, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 6 shifts the mood entirely, opening introspectively before turning sharp, witty and energetic through its final two movements.

Date: Sept. 26

Location: Katara Cultural Village, Opera House

Find more information here.