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MUMBAI: The 4th edition of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) is underway, and it is sure to be a buffet of choices galore for cinema lovers.
The DTFF kicked off to a glittering start on 17th November, with celebrities walking the red carpet. The festival opened with a grand screening of Meera Nair’s film, ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid.
The lineup for the film festival is impressive, with the biggest draw for Indian fans, apart from Mira Nair’s film of course, is a special tribute to veteran late filmmaker Yash Chopra. The festival also seeks to promote local talent, with the ‘Made in Qatar’ showcase at the festival.
The Arab Film Competition at DTFF is the only competitive film festival in the region, which is dedicated to promoting Arabic talent. Films scheduled for this year’s Arab Film Competition mark the powerful evolution in the cinematic sensibilities and approaches of the region’s filmmakers, representing Egypt, Qatar, Tunisia, Algeria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan, Palestine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Syria. An array of 27 films including seven documentaries, seven narrative features and 13 shorts from 10 Arab countries are competing for total prize money of over US$440,000.
An interesting section of the festival this year will be DTFF’s ‘Doha Talks’. This will feature a series of 13 thought-provoking industry events, special screenings, and extended Q&A sessions with renowned filmmakers including Mira Nair and Robert De Niro.
Audiences at DTFF 2012 can also look forward to catching up on the best of international cinema, with 21 films in the Contemporary World Cinema section and 12 Special Screenings. The films have been selected from all over the world with representation from both established markets such as France, Germany, India, Iran, United Kingdom, China and the USA and Festival debutants including Kazakhstan, Senegal, Ethiopia and Iceland.
The festival has always shown commitment to be a true community event. In this context, DTFF will also host an extensive line-up of family and youth-centered activities including Family Day Screenings, Kid’s Red Carpet experiences, DFI Kids Access Programme, stage performances, roaming entertainment and performers, arts and crafts workshops, sports, storytelling, puppetry, games, film-making activities and performances from local schools and community groups among others.
