Beyond the Museums |
Worldwide cultures are celebrated in year-round screenings that range from restored masterpieces to documentaries ripped from today ’ s headlines .
The DFI is also building a dynamic film industry in Qatar by nurturing regional storytellers whose work is global in scope . These rising talents develop and produce original stories for the web , television , radio , and theatres . They mature alongside the veterans in DFI ’ s in-house film production unit who collaborate with foreign filmmakers .
Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair saw the value of the DFI instantly . After partnering on the production of the political thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist , she continued the collaboration by bringing emerging East African filmmakers to the DFI for intensive training .
The DFI has also co-funded prominent films such as Kahlil Gibran ’ s The Prophet , which was produced by Salma Hayek Pinault and based on the celebrated poems of Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran .
| Robert De Niro
The world ’ s gaze fell on Qatar ’ s thriving film culture during The Doha Tribeca Film Festival , a series of week-long film festivals organised by DFI and held annually from 2009 to 2012 . Indoor and outdoor screenings of Arab and international films , including multiple world and international premieres , were held at Katara Cultural Village in Doha . Attendees included world-famous actors Kevin Spacey and Robert De Niro .
The annual Ajyal Youth Film Festival builds on the DFI ’ s history of community-based programming . Ajyal , which means “ generations ” in Arabic , invites people to discuss cinema through interactive events . A week of workshops , tournaments , exhibitions , and screenings empower and inspire the region ’ s youth .
| Holly Carter , Jayshree Janu Kharpade , guest and Doha Film Institute Resident Filmmaker and Programmer Chadi Zeneddin attend the 2014 Ajyal Youth Film Festival
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