A festival for the community
The Doha Tribeca Film Festival is set to offer the young generation a myriad of perspectives captured on celluloid.
The excitement was palpable as the young filmmakers, along with their families and friends, gathered at a hotel in Doha two months ago for the inaugural screening of their films. Each of the seven films screened was just a minute long. But they were unique and significant because they were written, directed, produced and edited by Qatari nationals and they told Qatari stories shot in homes and locations around Doha.
The films provided insights into modern Qatari society with themes ranging from a comic look at the role technology played in the social lives of young Qataris and vignettes of family life to a horror story set in Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art.
The experience of creating these films has made a strong impact on the filmmakers. “I will never look at a 90-minute film the same way again,” Fatma Alremaihi says. “Before this, I never thought I could ever make a film. But now I have a greater understanding of everything from correct lighting to camera angles to direct style. And even my 5-year-old son who appeared in my film wants to make films,” she adds.
Noora Almeadadi is equally enthusiastic. “The experience was enriching. I hope to have another chance to produce a longer film,” she says.
The One-minute film series was an initiative of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) and the young filmmakers were guided by DTFF’s community outreach programme, the award-winning Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti at every stage from scriptwriting to the final editing. As Doha prepares to host its first international film festival, these one-minute films form an important step in encouraging interest in cinema and developing a vibrant film industry in Qatar.
The outreach programme of DTFF underlines the fact that the focus of the festival is to involve the local community. DTFF executive director and head of entertainment for Al Jazeera English Amanda Palmer says: “DTFF was founded through a long-term partnership between the Qatar Museums Authority and the Tribeca Film Festival. It is modelled on the Tribeca Film Festival’s dedication to engage the local community and promote filmmaking talent. But we have created an event that has a uniquely Qatari identity and is relevant to our community.
“Our vision is to create a festival that engages the Qatari people, nurtures and supports regional filmmakers and helps create the next generation of filmmakers in Qatar. We want to inspire, educate and involve a new generation of cinema lovers here. We want to discover, mentor and fund regional filmmaking talent and foster a creative and aware community through art, entertainment and free and open discussion. But, above all, we want to create a festival in which everyone feels welcome.”
True to this vision, the DTFF has reached out to the community in several ways. Over 700 members of the community are involved in the event as volunteers. Measures such as free screenings in public places, show timings up to 2am and a “family day” where parents can watch films while their children attend cinema-related workshops are designed to ensure that every section of the community enjoys the festival.
Another proactive initiative is the DTFF bus, which is taking the festival to every part of the city. People can buy festival tickets and merchandise from the bus. They can watch trailers of films to be screened at the festival and offer their comments about the festival. The bus will also host workshops on acting, animation and other film-related subjects for children and adults.
The opening night screening of director Mira Nair’s Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere, will be open to all. Nair will also present an account of the life of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. DTFF has also announced two awards of $50,000 for the best Arab and international film selected by audience polls. A screenplay development and filmmaker grant programme to support filmmakers in the region will also be announced at the event.
The films for the festival have been selected with the local community in mind. A third of the more than 30 films to be shown are from the Middle East, while the rest represent the best of world cinema. Film lovers can enjoy a diverse palette of cinema experiences, including Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant!, starring Matt Damon, Elia Sulaiman’s poignant look at life in Palestine titled The Time That Remains, Dev Benegal’s Road Movie about a young man’s road trip through India, starring Abhay Deol, and Iraqi filmmaker Mohammad Al Daradji’s Son of Babylon about a mother’s search for her son through war-ravaged Iraq.
The Qatari flavour to the festival comes from Liz Mermin’s Team Qatar, which follows the Qatari national debate team as it trains for the world championship. A special highlight of the festival is the free open-air screening in Souq Waqif of the classic Egyptian film The Mummy (Al Momia).
Other highlights include Canadian director Ruba Nadda’s cross-cultural romance Cairo Time, Jane Campion’s Bright Star about poet John Keats, Oliver Stone’s discussions with seven South American presidents in South of the Border, Michael Moore’s documentary on the failures of capitalism, the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man, Bahman Ghobadi’s No One Knows about Persian Cats, exploring Tehran’s underground music movement, Coco Before Chanel directed by Anne Fontaine, The September Issue, which provides a glimpse into the world of high fashion and direct style, Kobe Doin’ Work, Spike Lee’s insightful look at the life of Laker’s superstar Kobe Bryant and Nick Stringer’s Turtle: An Incredible Journey, which documents the amazing 25-year journey of a loggerhead turtle.
Palmer says: “The majority of Qatar’s population is under the age of 30, so we wanted to bring films that would appeal to, educate and inspire them. We were also mindful of cultural sensibilities. And we wanted to ensure that Arab films and filmmakers were well represented. But our main criterion for selecting films was to bring phenomenal stories and filmmaking to Doha.
“We have tried to bring a diverse range of the best films from around the world that Qatari audiences do not otherwise get an opportunity to see. And it is wonderful that most of the filmmakers will be present to participate in post-screening Q&A sessions and to share their expertise through workshops and seminars.”
Palmer dismisses comparisons of DTFF with other film festivals in the region as unnecessary. “This is not about competing with others. All film festivals have a responsibility to provide a platform for upcoming filmmakers to showcase their films and to provide the local community access to good world cinema. The more festivals we have in this region, the better it is for filmmakers and audiences here,” she says. “Our uniqueness lies in our community orientation.”
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