Dr. Marzouq Bashir, Ph.D. in Media and Theater, Theater Artist Saad Burshid, and Dr. Rami Abu Shehab, Lecturer of Arabic Language, participated in the symposium moderated by the Theatre Arts Program Coordinator at CCQ, Dr. Said Ennaji. The symposium included extensive discussions, which enriched the audience's theatrical experience, and shed light on the intersection of drama and cinema with history, leading to an understanding of the Qatari artistic experience in this regard.

The engagement of students and the public reflects their awareness of the importance of the current historical drama productions, especially the Qatari ones, and confirmed the need to have a strong local film industry that can be presented globally, just is the case with the strong media presence of Qatar and its influence on global public opinion.

In this regard, Dr. Bashir said that "drama and history" is a current topic that raises many questions and debates, especially in light of the large wave of series and films dealing with historical issues and stories that resonate with people and reach public cultural, media, and even political opinion, there is no greater evidence of this than, the debate that accompanied the series of Omar ibn al-Khattab and many others.

Dr. Bashir also addressed the complex relationships between drama and history, and the necessity of erasing preconceived ideas that may give power to the “guardians of history” at the expense of drama under the pretext of “loyalty to the historical truth”. Drama is intended to be subject to history and its details, but the historical truth is not agreed upon first. Moreover, it is governed by a system other than the drama because the transmission of history through drama does not aim to history itself, but rather to the present and the relevant concerns.

For this reason, Dr. Bashir defended the primacy of drama and its ability to adapt and transform the historical story according to writing strategies and the requirements and priorities of dramatic production. The goal allows for the disposal of the historical element as it does not intend to convey historical events as they are, and at which history stops, but it digs into the reasons behind the historical event to illuminate the present and proposes a vision for the future.

He added that we don’t have to project external judgments on the drama and that we need to embody the idea that history becomes nothing more than a dramatic tool, and an element of dramatic imagination, whether in a series, film, or play, and not a sacred historical document, which allows for a dramatic approach that illuminates the present and the future and does not stop at rigid historical facts.

For his part, Artist Burshid dealt with the ambiguities of the Qatari experience in dealing with history dramatically through several series, the most famous of which were, Omar, Al Mourabitoun, and Al Andalus, not to mention dealing with history in the theater, and what it witnessed in relation to addressing history and its development following the official recognition of the Ministry of Culture in the early seventies of the last century, and it continued brilliantly. He added, unfortunately, the current drama production in Qatar is not convincing, as it does not keep pace with developments in the media and drama field, nor does it keep pace with the development of the international television and cinema industry, although Qatar has now become a global model in independent media production, influential in global public opinion and moreover Qatar has a unique experience in sports media, which raises more than one question about the unconvincing status of drama production.

Dr. Rami Abu Shehab also expressed his astonishment at the cinema productions that dealt with history, and the relevant means including presenting historical stories and dealing with historical figures, beside other means. He also addressed the intersection of drama and cinema with history, whether on the Arab or international level, and focused on the ideological employment of history in cinema through the huge number of films devoted to the Holocaust and stories of Nazi violence against the Jews.

Dr. Rami Abu Shehab expressed his astonishment at this huge number of films that side with history in many of their models, motivated by a purely ideological desire to present a “history” that makes us forget the suffering of the Palestinian people, including killing and displacement. This reveals the West's ability to tailor a cinematic discourse that can formulate a new form of history to its interests. This raises the question about the responsibility of the Arabs and their film industry in light of this situation, so the answer concludes to the lack of historical films in the Arab world and their inability, despite their importance, to confront the Western historical cinema productions that present Western history as a dominant model.

In conclusion, Dr. Ennaji emphasized that while we are looking for drama’s fulfillment of history, we may be motivated by a noble idea that respects history as given. Whether theatrical or cinematic, Drama has its logic represented in creating spectacles and shaping the spectator’s awareness. Hence, drama makes history, and does not convey its events. Therefore, when we dramatize history, we create the future we shall have.​