The second annual Ajyal Youth Film Festival, presented by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), will open on December 1 at Katara Cultural Village with the world premiere of Speed Sisters by Amber Fares, an action-packed and insightful documentary about the Middle East’s first all-woman motor racing team.

Raising the curtain on the festival’s second edition, Speed Sisters takes viewers inside the West Bank’s streetcar motor racing scene where a group of five young Palestinian women are brought together by their desire to live life on their own terms.

The debut feature by Lebanese-Canadian director, Amber Fares, takes an intimate look at the lives of its five subjects and what motivates them to compete as they challenge social expectations, community politics and family dynamics while also facing restrictions of movement by the Israeli military occupation.

The film was developed with the support of the Sundance Institute and DFI’s grants programme, along with a variety of international film funds and hundreds of crowdfunding backers around the world.

Fatma al-Remaihi, festival director and acting CEO of Doha Film Institute, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to present the world premiere of Speed Sisters in Doha at the opening night of the Ajyal Youth Film Festival. It is a film that took us by surprise – a first feature by an exciting new director that depicts a very different aspect of life in Palestine than what we are accustomed to seeing on screen.

“Our festival is dedicated to bringing generations together through cinema, and Speed Sisters is a wonderful example of a film that explores some of the questions and challenges faced by young people in our region around notions of tradition and modernity.”

The director, Amber Fares, will be in attendance for the opening night along with a delegation of the film’s cast and crew.

Amber Fares said: “We have spent five years in Palestine bringing this story to the screen and I am very excited that Doha will mark the start of our festival journey. Speed Sisters is a story about five fiercely determined women and their drive to break through the obstacles in their lives in order to stay true to themselves and their dreams.

Previously announced titles for the festival include the closing night gala which will feature the Middle East premiere of ‘Kahlil Gibran’s the Prophet’, the animated adaptation of Gibran’s beloved book which made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month. Produced by Salma Hayek and made with support from the institute’s co-financing programme, the film features the work of nine renowned animators who each depict a chapter from the book. Emirati filmmaker and creator of the popular Freej series, Mohamed Saeed Harib, is among the nine directors.

The full festival programme will be announced early next month and tickets will go on sale on November 18, at 1pm on the DFI website and in-person at the following box office locations: Ajyal Festival Booth (City Center Mall) from November 18 to December 6, (Sat-Wed 2pm-9pm, Thu-Fri 2pm-10pm); DFI Katara Drama Theatre Box Office from November 18 to 27, (1pm-8pm daily) and the Katara Main Box Office from November 28 to December 6, (November 28-30, 1pm-8pm; December 1-5, 1pm-10pm; December 6, 10am-10pm).