Highlights

We’ve been busy today, from car racing in Brazil to dancing in India, playing basketball in Doha and discovering the “Black Gold” behind the scenes. Join Lama and Hend, who show absolutely no sign of exhaustion (yet!), as we bring you the highlights from Day #2.

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Day 2 in Pictures Click here.

Tweets and quotes of Day #2:

• After attending the Christopher Doyle Masterclass today, @susiebillings tweeted: “Great session 2day w/ cinematographer, Christopher Doyle at #DTFF11. Am so grateful 4 the unique opportunities living in #Doha provides.”

• The West Wing star @RobLowe, enjoying the warm temperature and cool Qatar breeze, tweeted: “Now in Doha with team Miramax. Great weather, great people. In this part of the world, this is what the future should look like.”

• @Pixiepooo was lucky enough to catch one of the greatest Arab actors earlier at Qatar University. “Omar Sharif at #QU WAS AMAZING!!!! #DTFF,” she tweeted.

• While reviewing opening day, Gautaman Bhaskaran of the Hindustan Times wrote: “Black Gold assumes a truly international character in a Festival that promises an array of stars and some truly cinematic moments.”

Senna

Asif Kapadia stopped by earlier to talk about making the film Senna, a documentary about the famous Formula One driver, before it was screened at DTFF ‘11. The British filmmaker, of Indian descent, is an avid sports fan and masterfully whittled down archived footage to create this compelling, and dramatic, film. Amanda Palmer, DFI Executive Director, caught up with him earlier this year on the Fabulous Picture Show.

Bollywood, the greatest love story

There wasn’t a person in the cinema able to resist the urge to tap their feet during the many musical scenes in this documentary . Bollywood’s an industry enjoyed by at least two billion, and the audience in Doha left understanding why.

Where do we go now?

Four years have passed since Caramel, Nadine Labaki’s massively popular feature film, so expectations were running high for her next project. Judging by the reactions from the audience who watched the anticipated Where do we go now?, a mixture of tears and roaring laughter, Labaki’s career is continuing in the right direction.

Director/Actress Nadine Labaki at the 'Where Do We Go Now?' premiere at DTFF 2011

Harrer Harrer Exhibition

For the past six months, DFI has been holding workshops in the region for new directors to help them create one-minute films depicting the Arab world’s recent changes.

Today, 50 of them were exhibited at the opening of Harrer Harrer (“Liberate”).

“I feel very proud here standing among 48 different new directors, each presenting their first film about the Arab revolutions,” said the Egyptian actor Khaled Al-Nabawy, a DTFF guest.

Oscar nominated Scandar Copti, the Head of DFI Education who has been leading the programme, was inspired. “The result is that we have some truly insightful and diverse work,” he said. “Individually and collectively, the films provide a snapshot of the Arab world this year, and I think people will really appreciate the creativity that has been unlocked and enabled.”

Other industry experts at the opening included the Oscar nominee Hani Abu Asaad, the filmmaker Suha Arraf, actor Hisham Suleiman, composer James Horner and cinematographer Chris Doyle.

The exhibition is at Katara Building 5 today until 10pm and on October 27, 28 and 29 from 10 am – 10 pm.

Egyptian Actor Khaled El Nabawy with DFI Head of Education, Scandar Copti at the Opening of the 'Harrer Harrer' Exhibition.

Salaam Dunk stars hit the court

The stars of Salaam Dunk, a documentary about a basketball team of female, Iraqi students, played in a local tournament today. Several hundred came to see them battle it out on the courts with the Qatar Women’s Team and the female team at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

Results:
GAME 1: Qatar Women’s Team 27, Salaam Dunk Iraqi Team 4
GAME 2: Qatar Women’s Team 38, Georgetown 8
GAME 3: Georgetown 20, Salaam Dunk Iraqi team, 6.

Qatar Women’s team wins the cup.

The Artist

The audience packed the opera house in Katara to watch The Artist, a black and white silent movie due to hit cinemas in America next month. This dialogue-free French film had its debut in Cannes earlier this year and is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Its success, industry professionals have already predicted, will be noteworthy, due to its simplicity in an age of 3D and CGI.

DFI Kids Access

Hessa and Abdulla speak to all the stars from the red carpet of the world premier of Black Gold on opening night of the 2011 Doha Tribeca Film Festival.

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Miramax Rolls Mobile App Out to Middle East

For the second day in a row, our Social Media Lounge team has another exclusive scoop.

Speaking to our team, Michael Lang, Miramax CEO, announced that a new Facebook app is set to be rolled out to Qatar, Egypt and the UAE, a move which represents the importance of Arab region for international distributors.

“It’s the first time that an app like this has been available (in the region), where you can go and watch out films and clips…We’re very bullish about the opportunity,” he said.

The announcement was made as Tarek Abu-Esber and Shamir Allibhai from DFI took questions from Twitter and Facebook users for the industry heavyweight. One asked Lang whether the availability of films online would ever replace the traditional cinema experience.

“There is nothing better than film and filmmaking,” responded Lang. “The long-form film is still one of the most effective ways to get your message out. The (Black Gold) premiere at the Katara Open Air Theatre, for example, can’t be replaced. Digital is helpful to expand the audience to see the film for a second time, or for those who didn’t get to see something at the theatre.”

Yesterday, we scooped the news about Shankaboot heading to four more countries .

Black Gold: Behind-the-Scenes of an Epic Journey

Still buzzing from last night’s premiere of Black Gold, the director Jean Jacques Annaud participated in a discussion about the work that went into creating the film. He was joined by cast members, the film’s producer and the legendary James Horner, who worked on the music.

Masterclass: Christopher Doyle

Christopher Doyle, the award-winning cinematographer, stopped by to give students a masterclass, using his experience and sharing anecdotes from his colourful journey to inspire. The Australian native, who has spent most of his adult life in China, is a true pioneer of Asian cinema. His skills were appreciated early on in his career, as he won the 1983 award for Best Cinematography Award in the Asia-Pacific Film Festival for That Day, on the Beach

Christopher Doyle during the Masterclass.