Bakhit Al-Hamad

Bakhit Ismail Al-Hamad is a Qatari television director with formal training in music. He entered the arts against prevailing expectations, developed his skills through persistence and built a career founded on initiative, practical problem-solving and continuous learning.

Among the channel’s first assignments was coverage of the fifteenth Arabian Gulf Cup, for which it received the Best Broadcast award.

He was born into a quiet, traditional middle-income family of seven on Al Kahraba Street. They later moved first to Al Bidda and then, in the 1970s, to the newly developing Khalifa City, encouraged by state settlement initiatives. The area’s first consumer cooperative was opened during that period by His Highness the Father Amir. His father worked for the petroleum company in Dukhan and later Mesaieed before retiring.

From an early age, he preferred an independent path to imitation. Among the public figures he admired was Sheikh Hamad bin Ali bin Jabr Al Thani, the pilot and former Chief Executive of Qatar Airways, whose refined, professional and humane treatment of employees and travellers offered a model of leadership.

He attended Yarmouk Preparatory School and an industrial secondary school. After graduation, he entered the Music Institute and earned a diploma. He hoped to continue his studies in Egypt, but missed the registration deadline and lost the opportunity.

Music had attracted him since childhood. He played an oud secretly because he feared the reaction of his strict, conservative father. When the father discovered it, he broke the instrument into pieces.

Art was present elsewhere in the family. Three of his five brothers tried acting; two soon left, one for military service and another for the oil sector. His elder brother Ahmed Ismail continued in theatre and television and appeared with leading Qatari artists. Bakhit himself once appeared as an extra in two silent scenes of a Qatari television drama.

Two other brothers entered television work, one in administration and the other in camera control, where the source edition records him as the only Qatari specialist at the time.

Bakhit had long dreamed of becoming a pilot and scored 83 per cent in selection tests in 1993. He joined Qatar Airways during its founding period and progressed from services—where he received an outstanding-employee award—to reservations and then Head of Promotion and Exhibitions. He represented Qatar at a tourism exhibition in Egypt and at local events, and organised logistics for the opening of reservation stations, including hotels and domestic and international invitations. He remained with the airline until 1996.

The field was difficult, but he recognised that he had found the work he wanted and gradually established a place within television direction.

In 2003, he joined Al Jazeera Sports as Head of Directing and directed the channel’s first broadcast. His work covered regular programmes and studio production both inside the channel and at stadiums. Its first Gulf Cup coverage later received a best-broadcast award.

The assignment tested more than technical directing. Evaluating applicants required an understanding of multiple disciplines and the judgement to choose people for a new organisation. Every candidate he selected was subsequently appointed, confirming the quality of the process.

In 2009, he moved to Al Jazeera Children’s Channel and Baraem, later known as Jeem TV. Directing for children of different ages was among the most demanding stages of his career. Programmes included “The Little Reader”, “Tilautula”, “Fava”, “Manasik” and “Winners”, together with other successful productions.

By 2010, experience across formats had given him a comprehensive command of directing. That year, he entered drama with the Lebanese actor Rafiq Ali Ahmed in “Al Rawi”. The actor performed several characters alone, creating complex demands for both performer and director. Bakhit valued the opportunity to work with an artist known for major historical roles, including Khalid ibn Al-Walid.

His sports portfolio further included domestic leagues, motorcycle racing at Lusail Circuit, several forms of powerboat racing and Formula racing in Bahrain.

He also directed prominent Al Jazeera News programmes including “More Than One Opinion”, “Sharia and Life”, “The Opposite Direction” and “Open Dialogue”, as well as a wide range of news output.