Ibrahim El Batout’s third feature “Hawi” from Egypt won Best Arab Film while Josef Fares’ Lebanese comedy “Balls” picked up the award for Best Arab Filmmaker in recognition for its screenplay at the second Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF).
DTFF came to a dramatic end on Oct. 30 at the Closing Night Gala and open-air concert by Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama along the Arabian Gulf at Katara Cultural Village.
“The First Grader” and “Grandma, A Thousand Times” won the Audience Awards for Best Narrative Film and Best Documentary Film. The prize for Best Arab Short Film went to Sirwar Zirkly’s “Missing.”
Mahmoud Kaabour, director of “Grandma, A Thousand Times” also received a Special Jury Mention in the Arab Film Competition for his film, a heartfelt celebration of family ties. The jury prizes were the first ones ever handed out at DTFF, which launched in 2009.
A host of luminaries and filmmakers were in attendance at the closing ceremony, including Bosnian director/screenwriter and jury member Danis Tanovi?, Indian director and jury member Bhavna Talwar, actor/writer/director and jury member Nick Moran, Arab star Adel Imam, American/Egyptian director and comedian Ahmed Ahmed, “Certified Copy” star William Shimell, “Secretariat” director Randall Wallace, acclaimed composer Nitin Sawhney, Palestinian actress Yasmine Al Massri and Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat.
The two Arab film competition winners and the Audience Award winners received $100,000 each. The five-member DTFF jury consisted of Yosra, Salma Hayek Pinault, Nick Moran, Bavna Talwar and Danis Tanovic. The jury for the Arab Short Film Competition was comprised of filmmakers from the Arab Film Competition. The winner of the Best Arab Short Film received $10,000 .
As part of the DTFF’s partnership with the Giffoni Experience — an international exchange of kids’ ideas and film experiences — 60 local Doha children became jurors of a carefully curated film selection. The jury, who worked with six other international jurors, awarded prizes to two short films: “Pictogram Story,” an offbeat animated love story, and “Transit,” the story of a 10-year-old boy who on his return journey home from holiday stumbles across a mysterious and desperate man at the airport who transforms his life forever.
Amanda Palmer, Executive Director of DFI said: “This year’s DTFF has provided a fantastic showcase for our Arab and international filmmakers. The array of films we’ve screened over the past five days span the personal to the epic, and we’ve seen films that engage, entertain and touch us by using the simple skills of storytelling.”
