In his own words: How my years at a QF school paved my way to creative success

After completing a 12-year journey with the fulfillment that comes from having shown effort and diligence, I feel proud and happy to be a graduate of Qatar Academy Al Khor’s Class of 2020.

I will not forget what I learned and gained from the relationships that I have forged with my fellow students, and from my teachers, who will remain in my memory forever for the support they have given me during my years at the school.

In 2008, when I was seven years old, I started studying at Qatar Academy Al Khor (QAK), and in my time there, I have grown up and learned a lot. The school has given me the opportunity to understand local and international issues; to discuss many social, political, economic and even environmental issues; and to be a conscious and educated citizen, which will help me to contribute to the development of Qatar’s society in the future.

During my studies at QAK, I discovered my ability to write literary texts, such as short stories and theatrical scripts. And I participated in various plays and short films that I prepared with relatives and friends, which helped me to communicate with institutions outside the school environment such as the Doha Film Institute and Qatar National Theater.

My passion for theatrical works started with the story of Laila and the Wolf - or Little Red Riding Hood - as this was one of the first plays that I watched as a child. The influence it had on me was so strong that I re-enacted it with my brothers and cousins when we were young.

As time went by, I realized that I was still interested in the theater and decided that I wanted to enter this field - this time, by writing my own scripts. As a family, we met every Friday to share our ideas with each other and prepare theatrical scripts, and on the same night we would present our plays to the children in our family.

One day, my aunt asked us to perform our plays in front of the whole family. We felt the enthusiasm and tension as if we were performing to a real audience! It was an unforgettable experience, and one that made us all very happy.

After this wonderful night, we worked hard to plan for performing a play called My Generous Family – the play that is closest to my heart and one of the best I ever worked on. We designed theater posters, prepared a short video, and sent it to our family members. I still remembering the first time we performed it.

One day, my uncle's daughter proposed the idea of shooting a short film, and we worked on preparing a film about maids that was based in reality. Another film was called I Be Better, and through it we aimed to highlight the importance of the mother's role in the family – ending by distributing roses to our mothers and a gift to my grandmother!

After that, I decided to enter the film industry, in addition to theater and drama. Our drama teacher at QAK, Amy Fryer, introduced me to Doha Film Institute, enabling me to offer them some of my previous films and meet with directors. We shared ideas about filmmaking and theater and exchanged views on several topics. It drew my attention to the amazing volume of film production in Qatar and made me see how bright the future of the country’s film industry is.

This encouraged me to continue what I had started, and I prepared a short movie entitled Thank You My Teacher. Through this film, my work reached a larger audience - my fellow students and their parents - and on a summer vacation I started writing a script for a short film that ultimately became a piece of work called Scam Ropes, focusing on digital piracy.

I presented this film as an International Baccalaureate project for middle school students, and I entered it in the National Programs and Heritage Festival, which is organized by QF’s Education Development Institute. I won first place in the Best School Initiative category, and this highlighted my talent and skills in front of an audience and gave me more confidence in myself.

The following year, I also participated in the festival, but this time through a play called The Secret of Success. I acted in it with my fellow students, with the play being directed by the artist Salah Al-Mulla. It was a valuable opportunity for me to meet one of the most prominent Qatari artists and to work under his direction.

One of the other artistic experiences that I enjoyed during my studies at QAK is drawing, after I registered in one of the optional arts subjects. My first portraits were of the artist Abd Al-Hussein Abd al-Rida, it wasn’t easy to work on this painting, But what kept me going was that it would be exhibited at an exhibition held by QAK to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

To complete the painting, I stayed after school for five more hours. I was able to display the painting in the exhibition, which increased my enthusiasm to continue and led me to draw 10 more paintings and display them in my first art exhibition.

In my final year at QAK, I wrote a theatrical script for Qatar National Day at the request of the director of the school, Aisha Al-Maqbali, who has always been my first supporter. It was an honor for me to finish my years at the school with a national theatrical work, and it meant I ended my time there in the best way: on the school stage in front of a great audience.

Every beginning has an end, and I hope that the end of this stage of my life will be a new beginning and the start of a journey that will be full of accomplishments and successes. Thank you, Qatar Academy Al Khor for these beautiful memories.