It doesn’t get any more superstar than Robert De Niro and we couldn’t be more excited that he’s joining us in Doha for the Festival. Catch him later in the week in his hilarious performance in David O. Russell’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ (Monday 19 at 8:00 PM and Friday 23 at 6:00 PM, both at the Al Rayyan Theatre) – but today, he’ll be on hand for a Doha Talks conversation looking at his illustrious career (In Conversation: Robert De Niro, today at 7:00 PM, Al Rayyan Theatre). It’s nothing short of amazing to think back over what De Niro has done since his first onscreen appearance in the late 60s – the man has played some of the most important roles in the history of US cinema – and we can’t wait to hear what he has to say about his craft.

Now a major international commercial musical phenomenon, hip hop is still rooted in resistance, social commentary and political activism – so it’s probably not surprising that a massive wave of Arab hip hop is happening right now, given the way peoples throughout the Arab world have demanded the reins of power over the last few years. Check out ‘Lyrics Revolt’, a film made by four women right here in Qatar, to learn more about what the Arab hip-hop scene has going on at the moment (Made in Qatar Programme 1: New Hopes, today at 7:30 PM at the Katara Drama Theatre). After the movie, regional hip-hop stars the Arabian Knightz, Omar Offendum, Malika and Farah Abdellatif will rap up the evening with a free show (Arab Hip Hop Show, 9:30 PM at Katara), so come and see what the new face of Arab youth power looks like.

A couple of screenings you should really get to: ‘Myn Bala – Warriors of the Steppe’ (9:30 PM today at the Al Rayyan Theatre) is the engrossing story of an epic youth-led battle that turned the tide of power for the people of Kazakhstan in the 18th century. Come for the story – but seriously, the battle stunts are like nothing you’ve ever seen before – they’re from the same people who did the stuntwork for Timur Bekmambetov’s cult classics ‘Day Watch’ and ‘Night Watch’. Tanks blowing each other away is always a fun watch; lots of that going on in ‘White Tiger’, a World War II story with a twist (6:30 PM today at the Katara Opera House).

Hopefully you had the chance last night to catch DTFF’s opener, Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ – if not, get yourself a ticket for the show on Friday (4:00 PM at the Katara Drama Theatre). Today, catch Nair talking about making her film (DFI helped make it, so come see what our homegrown film industry can accomplish) and see Marian Lacombe’s fascinating behind-the-scenes making-of doc (The Global Landscape: Making ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’, today at 4:00 PM at the Katara Opera House).