The Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) has appointed Egyptian actress Yosra as the president of the jury for the upcoming festival.

The second annual festival will be held from October 26 to 30.

Yosra replaces previously announced jury president Hany Abu-Assad who had to step back from his role due to a delay in production with his latest film, The Courier.

Four outstanding and diverse members of the film industry will join Yosra as jury members. They are: Academy Award nominated actress, producer and director Salma Hayek Pinault (Frida, Ugly Betty); English actor, writer and director Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels); Indian Director Bhavna Talwar (Dharm) and Bosnian screenwriter and film director of the Academy Award winning ‘No Man’s Land’, Danis Tanovic.

Together they will choose the winners of the festival’s Arab Film Competition: Best Arab Film and Best Arab Filmmaker who will each receive monetary awards of $100,000.

The festival has also added seven more feature films - including Andrew Lau’s Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, John Curran’s Stone starring Robert De Niro and Edward Norton, Machete starring Jessica Alba, Danny Trejo and Don Johnson, Casino Jack starring Kevin Spacey and a special IMAX presentation of Paranormal Activity 2.

Other additions are two Indian films Rakht Charitra by Ramagopal Varma and Udaan by Vikramaditya Motwane and one new title, Champs Elysees Je t’aime, has been added to the Arab Short Film Competition. Tickets for all films at DTFF are on sale at box offices located at the City Center Cinema and the Villaggio Cinemas.

Doha Film Institute (DFI) executive director Amanda Palmer said: “We are delighted Yosra is joining us in Doha as our first Jury President for DTFF's first Arab Film Competition. This jury truly understands Doha's mission to support new talent in the region, they have the right sensibilities, perspectives and expertise, and we're looking forward to introducing them to a new generation of talent here in the Middle East.”

The Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) is a community minded five-day event that showcases the best of Arab and international films. The Festival also reflects DFI´s film financing and year-round educational programs and filmmaker events. - TradeArabia News Service