Highlights

They came in their thousands to enjoy the third DTFF. Join Lama and Hend one last time as they take you through the festival’s highlights from parties to premieres and screenings to the Social Media Lounge. It’s finally time to take off the high-heels girls and let the red carpet be rolled up until next year!

Tweets and quotes from Day#5

• The talented stand -up comedian Dean Obeidallah presented one of our major events earlier. Using twitter account under @Deanofcomedy, he said: “It was great fun co-hosting award ceremony at the Doha TriBeCa Film festival. Congrats to all the winners and nominees.”

• It’s been emotional, and tweets like this do not go unnoticed. We’re glad you enjoyed it! @Shakir_Ahamed: “DTFF was simply superb. Amazing days. #dtff11”

• Actress Robin Wright, most famous for her role as Jenny in Forrest Gump, is one of our guests this year. Talking to a reporter from the Gulf News, she said: “I read a quote about the DFI’s founding idea. It read, ‘film has the power to change lives’ and I thought, yes it does.”

• Commenting on yesterday’s Doha Talks event with Antonio Banderas, Alia Alami took to our Facebook page. She commented that the star’s “graceful attitude and intellectual depth, devoid of vanity and ego touched the audience. His vision revealed his sense of commitment which made us view the movie industry that it is not just about glamour and good looks but also the hard work and dedication which launched the actor to stardom.”

Wham Bam Islam

Superman, Spiderman, Catwoman and Pokemon stepped out of the limelight this morning, as the Kuwaiti Naif al Mutawa took a moment to introduce his Islamic comic concept to Doha. He is the creator of The 99, a book based on Islamic superheroes. It’s being made in to a movie, got a shout out from President Obama and was written about widely in the international press. Wham Bam Islam, the documentary that was screened earlier, delved into details and followed al Mutawa who faced a backlash from religious conservatives.

Fun for all of the family!

Katara, the home of DTFF’11, was converted into a children-friendly playground for Friday, our signature Family Day. Kids’ faces became canvases for our face-painters, kites flew across the blue skies and there’s less sand in the desert now after a series of sandcastle workshops were held. It’s been a colourful and, some parents might say, wonderfully tiring day!

Made in Qatar – The Screening

We’ve now showcased all 16 films in our Made in Qatar series. The screening event was a sellout show, a sign of how popular and intriguing Qatar’s local film industry is. Eleven of the short films were made by Qataris and five by residents. Applause, laughter and cheers filled the cinema hall as the films, which were between one and 25 minutes long, played. A Falcon, A Revolution was announced as the winning entry in our annual DTFF competition during an awards ceremony earlier today.

Masterclass Luc Besson

Luc Besson

Doha film fans got the chance to meet and learn from Luc Besson today, the French director behind The Fifth Element and Leon. He’s also recently directed The Lady, DTFF’s closing film. It’s an epic biopic of Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who fights government oppression and calls for democracy. “I am pleased and honored that The Lady has been selected to close DTFF,” said the Frenchman “and that our premiere in the Middle East will take place in Qatar. I was deeply inspired and touched by Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal story and her ongoing fight for democracy, and hope that through this film her cause and voice will be better known and shared with audiences around the world.”

And the Awards Go To…

The awards ceremonies marked just one of the many ways we celebrated film during DTFF 2011. A panel of distinguished actors and directors led by head juror Mohammed Malas, a prominent Syrian filmmaker, reviewed films for the competition. Here’s a rundown of the winning entries:

BEST FILM, MADE IN QATAR SERIES
A Falcon, A Revolution

BEST ARAB SHORT
Where Are You? directed by Abdullaziz Al-Nujaym.

Honourable Mention for My Father Is Still a Communist – Intimate Secrets To Be Published directed by Ahmad Ghossein.

BEST ARAB DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
Director Rania Stephan for The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Ikhtifa’aat Hosni Alt-Thalathat).

BEST ARAB DOCUMENTARY FILM
The Virgin, The Copts and Me directed by Namir Abdel Messeeh.

BEST ARAB NARRARTIVE FILMMAKER
Director Roschdy Zem for Omar Killed Me.

BEST ARAB NARRATIVE FILM
Normal directed by Merzak Allouache.

BEST PERFORMANCE
Sami Bouajila for Omar Killed Me.

AUDIENCE AWARD: BEST NARRATIVE FILM
Nadine Labaki for Where do We Go Now?.

AUDIENCE AWARD: BEST DOCUMENTARY
Morgan Spurlock for Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.

(Centre) Director of Best Arab Narrative Film 'Normal' speaks on stage with the cast of the film (behind).

We know, we know. We can’t believe the final day is upon us either! How did we get here? As Nadine Labaki puts it, Where Do We Go Now? Well, we’re taking you through the journey from comic book to big screens today, with a panel led by the creator of Freej and the man behind 99. We’ve also a got wonderful World Cinema screening, an awards ceremony and a pop star performance coming up. All this and more, as we wrap up DTFF 11. Check this page to see what you can catch, before we pull the curtains one last time.