Qatar

Directed by Christophe Bouquet and Clarisse Feletin

At the heart of the world's powder keg, Qatar, wedged between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has carved out a unique place for itself in the big leagues in less than twenty years. These two films take us behind the scenes of triumphant ultraliberalism, into the secrets of a country that has gone from anonymity to influence, then to power.

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Episode 1 - Power and Glory (1995-2008)

PSG, Harrods, Al Jazeera, the London Stock Exchange, the Muslim Brotherhood, the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They all have one thing in common: Qatar. No other country in the world has experienced such a meteoric rise in wealth. How did former Emir Hamad ben Khalifa al-Thani and his cousin Hamad ben Jassem ben Jaber al-Thani (known as HBJ) manage to turn this «land forgotten by the gods» into a key player on the international stage?

Episode 2 - Betrayals and double-dealing (2008-2013)

A hub for jihadists in exile and patron of the Muslim Brotherhood, an ally of the West and supporter of its most violent detractors, Qatar is a master of the art of double-dealing. Its involvement in the Arab Spring, which was continuously broadcast by its Al Jazeera channel, revealed its murky diplomacy and gave rise to deep concern. Is Qatar a dangerous sorcerer's apprentice?

Directed by: Christophe Bouquet and Clarisse Feletin
Written by: Vanessa Ratignier and Pierre Péan
Production: YAMI 2 - Christophe Nick
Broadcaster: France 5
Year of release: 2014
Duration: 2 x 52 min

A rare film to have ventured into such a minefield, «Qatar» is notable for its ability to explain the complex intertwining of the issues at stake, thanks to some exceptional archive footage and an interview with Islamist preacher Youssef al-Qardaoui. And also, paradoxically, for the absence of testimonies from our politicians and industrialists, even though there are many of them in the France-Qatar Friendship Group of the French National Assembly. - Télérama