Doha Film Institute
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In an alternate Qatar where pearls have vanished, and men disappear at sea, a history teacher uncovers his grandfather’s unfinished legacy and is drawn toward the water, as his body begins to change and the sea calls him to continue a journey no one returns from.
In an alternate Qatar where pearls have vanished, and men disappear at sea, Mohammed, a fifth-grade history teacher, is summoned by his father to empty his grandfather’s motorhome after the old man fails to return from the water. Parked at the edge of the coast, the motorhome becomes an archive. Inside, Mohammed uncovers fragments of a submerged history. The reality of pearl divers, rituals of departure, and the cost of going out to sea emerge piece by piece. What begins as cleaning slowly becomes an excavation of labour, masculinity, and inheritance.

Along the shore, Mohammed meets Jumana, an elderly woman who sits daily by the water, singing into the horizon in the hope her missing husband might hear her call. Between them, an unlikely bond forms, built from poetry, memory, and shared waiting. She speaks of the sea not as a place, but as a will that chooses who may return. As Mohammed draws closer to this forgotten world, his body registers what his mind cannot. His breathing shifts. He hears sounds no one else hears. A small bump appears at the centre of his chest, tender and unfamiliar. Compelled by his grandfather’s unfinished journey, Mohammed enters the sea alone.

Credits

Director
Hamad AlFayhani
Screenwriter
Hamad AlFayhani
Production Company
Qatari Film Fund

About the Director

Hamad AlFayhani
Hamad Jassim Alfayhani is a Qatari filmmaker and visual artist. AlFayhani works across film and photography to survey the emotional landscapes of his personal experiences. He has been featured in multiple exhibitions internationally and across the GCC. He has also directed 5 audio-visual installations that are currently part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of Qatar. He completed