What a wonderful way to start a festival. Everything launched with a lunch to welcome our guests from all around the world, and the atmosphere was one of real excitement. There’s so much to choose from, so much going on and so many great films – but one of the greatest things about any film festival is the way it brings people together – to learn from each other, share their experiences and make new friends and contacts.

Check out Day 1 in pictures here

The buzz continued in the afternoon with a press conference for ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’, where DFI’s CEO Abdulaziz Al Khater stressed the importance of cultural diversity at this year’s Festival, which he noted as an inherent theme, mentioning that there are 87 films coming from 34 countries. ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ is a remarkable piece of work that talks about cross cultures, so it is a fitting opener this year. DFI was involved in the funding for the film, and Al Khater noted how privileged the organisation feels to have been part of the journey of getting the film to the screen.

Mira Nair was on hand at the press conference to field questions. She explained that the inspiration for the film came from a visit to Pakistan in 2004, as well as her own experiences as a Lahori growing up in India. The film looks at the topical, and difficult, question of terrorism and the widening gap between East and West, but without making judgements – rather, it tries to assess the situation and outline some of the personal issues that have arisen on the ground. Asked how the film was received in the USA, Nair said, ‘People have been longing for this bridge and dialogue because so often in the US you only get one side of the story. Portraits of America in this film are as varied as America itself; not at all a condemnation but a portrait of real life in America today.’

Later in the evening, the big show really got started with the Opening Night presentation of Nair’s film. To get the audience in the mood for a week of storytelling, Qatar Arts presented a series of vignettes as a way to introduce the history of Qatar and its voyage to prosperity over the last generations. An address from Al Khater formally opened the fourth edition of DTFF, and audiences also heard welcoming speeches from Qatar’s Minister of Culture H.E. Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, DTFF’s Vice-Chair H.E. Mr Issa bin Mohammed Al-Monannadi, DTFF 2012 Jury President Hend Sabry and director Mira Nair. A musical interlude from Meesha kept audiences entertained, and then it was time for the big show with the MENA premiere presentation of ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’. Don’t forget, you can still see this brilliant film if you couldn’t make it last night – the next screening is on Friday, 23 November at 4:00 PM at the Katara Drama Theatre.

As the audience exited the screening, they were treated to a party where they could mingle under the night sky, taste some regional delicacies, and bask in the excitement of the week to come. All in all, a great way to get things going.