Written by Burhan Wazir, New Media, DFI

The month of April marks possibly the busiest time of year for a film institute based in the Middle East. A series of festivals is soon upon us. From April 10-16, Dubai witnesses the fifth installment of the Gulf Film Festival. This year’s week long celebration of Gulf cinema culminates with a celebration of pioneering Bahraini film maker Bassam al-Thawadi, who directed the country’s first feature film, “The Barrier” in 1990. The director will be given a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to his country’s cinema.

Many of the guests attending the Gulf Film Festival will find themselves travelling to New York only days later for this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The celebration of film, which runs from April 18-29, features a particularly strong line-up this year, with premiers including “The Five Year Engagement” and “The Avengers”. Notable speakers include Michael Moore, Judd Apatow, Meryl Streep and Susan Sarandon. Closer to home, “The List”, a documentary examining the plight of Iraqis fleeing the violence in their homeland, promises to be another highlight. We are also screening our own “The Virgin, the Copts and Me”.

The events at Tribeca also coincide with Doha’s own Al Jazeera Documentary Festival, which runs from April 19-22. Over a four day period, the eighth festival will see a large number of films compete for awards, including the Al Jazeera Golden Award, the Public Liberties and Human Rights Award and the New Horizon Award. Details of the films being shown have yet to be confirmed, but the initial line-up promises to showcase many new emerging voices from the Middle East and beyond.