Red Dot Films produced a show at the D’reesha Performing Arts Festival for Pre-University Education (PUE) at Qatar Foundation (QF). The project included the production of a song, a music video, and a stage performance.
D’reesha Festival was part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022’s organised activities in Oxygen Park in the Education City in the Rayyan district, aiming to promote Arab culture and arts.
The Music Video
The song is entitled Danat Al-Arab (the Arabic valuable pearl). It was sung and melodised by Fahad Al-Hajjaji and written by the poet Khaled Al-Buainain. The song focuses on the fact that Qatar is following in the footsteps of historical Muslim scholars and that science and knowledge are keys to progress and glory.
PUE utilised the students of QF’s schools and academies to perform the song’s choral and choreography. The choreography was designed by the artist and composer Faisal Altamimi, who has a long record of music composition and has directed several plays and performances.
Red Dot’s concept included a dramatic depiction of a mother who leaves her son with a teacher in a setting corresponding to an ancient time. After the child grows up and gains knowledge, the teacher guides him towards a portal that leads to modernity, where he influences a group of children to elevate together using the knowledge he gained.
Old-time scenes were filmed in Bin Jassim Castle, located in Al Rayyan behind Al Shaqab. The castle consists of some courtyard houses, the ones known architecturally in the Gulf region, while the modern scenes were filmed in the National Library in the Education City.
Shadab Khan, Red Dot’s General Director, said, “The song is long, so other scenes shall back the child’s story. Therefore, children’s choreography, choral singing, and playing of musical instruments were also filmed. Additionally, shots of the ballet dancer were added to create a balance between local and international moods and traditional and modern moods.”
“The Education City has great filming locations and architectural excellence that is unparalleled in Qatar, so most of the scenes were filmed in the Education City, such as the courtyard of the Multaqa (Student Center) and the Ceremonial Court,” Khan added.
The Stage Performance
The stage show relied mainly on the children’s and ballerina’s choreography, which started at the beginning of the melody after the Mother and teacher screening. The actor Mishaal Al-Dossary lip-synced the song, playing the role of the singer.
The music video and the stage performance share similarities, such as the use of the same song track. Both started with the screening of the mother and teacher scenes, but there were also some differences.
As soon as the song began on the stage, a looped background of a massive book scattering Arabic alphabets remained throughout the show until the last few seconds. While the children were leaving the stage, a drone shot of the West Bay Towers appeared, representing the modernity that Qatar has reached.
During the stage performance, Yousif Al-Hamadi, Red Dot’s Creative Head, explained the philosophy behind the chosen screen backgrounds: “The screens should not distract the audience. We avoided adding many details on the screen to keep the focus only on the performers.”
The D’reesha Performing Arts Festival of 2022 is the second edition, which includes various artistic, musical, poetic, and scientific performances.
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