Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF), the annual cultural celebration of Doha Film Institute (DFI), has announced the juries to select the winners of the Arab Film Competition.

The members of the four juries, drawn from across the world, include internationally acclaimed film professionals, authors and cultural thought leaders. They will evaluate the Arab Film Competition’s three segments – Feature Narrative, Feature Documentary and Short Film – as well as the ‘Made in Qatar’ segment of the festival, devoted to films made by Qatar-based talent.

The awards have total prize money of over $440,000.

The Feature Narrative jury will be headed by renowned Tunisian actress Hend Sabry. The other jury members are: Indian director Ashutoush Gowarikar; Dr. Emad Amralla Sultan, deputy general manager of Cultural Affairs of Katara Cultural Village; Turkish filmmaker Yeşim Ustaoğlu; and critically acclaimed Algerian author Mohammed Moulessehoul, who writes under the pen-name Yasmina Khadra.

The jury for Documentary Narrative comprises: Syrian documentary filmmaker, producer, and scriptwriter Hala Al Abdalla, Qatari director Hafiz Ali Ali and renowned Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat. The short films at the competition will be evaluated by Joana Hadjithomas, Tahani Rached, and Nadir Mokneche.

Appraising the ‘Made in Qatar’ showcase, which features the largest line-up yet this year with 19 films including 15 World Premieres, are: acclaimed Qatari author Waded Al Kuwairi; Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker, Haifaa Al Mansour; and founder of the Qatar Fine Arts Society and renowned visual artist Faraj Daham.

Abdulaziz Al-Khater, chief executive officer, Doha Film Institute, said: “We are thankful to the jury members, coming from around the world, to evaluate our Arab Film Competition entries.”

“The jury members will evaluate the films to international standards thus ensuring that our films are benchmarked against the best. We are setting the bar high to ensure that the finest Arab filmmaking talent get the due recognition and international recognition through the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.”

The Arab Film Competition has a total of 27 films including seven documentaries, seven narrative features and 13 shorts from 10 Arab countries including first time entries to the competition from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The Arab Film Competition for narrative features and documentaries has five world premieres and two international premieres; the Arab Short Film Competition has eight world and international premieres.

The 2012 Doha Tribeca Film Festival, running from November 17 to 24, will feature over 87 movies from 34 countries, with numerous nations making their debut at the Festival through the Arab Film Competition. The fourth edition will open with Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

This year, the Festival has expanded its scope to eight days, providing audiences a comprehensive and enriching cultural experience with new screening venues in Doha. – TradeArabia News Service