Does the Arabian Gulf really need another film competition?
The potential in this region is huge. Tribeca Film Festival Doha will be both an industry festival and an audience festival, not just an event for insiders. Community outreach will be a major part of what we’re doing. We’ll put filmmakers in touch with local, regional, and international audiences. And, across the entire program, there will be an educational component like The Doha Conversations — a series of thought-provoking dialogues between icons of world culture. Producers I work with were rebuffed from filming at Dubai’s new production facility because their documentary was about terrorism. Are you putting similar restrictions on subject matter? We don’t have any hard and fast rules. Festivals tend to be provocative, but we want to be mindful of cultural sensitivities. Many wonderful stories have nothing to do with terrorism. How do you tell these stories? How do you tell them in a way that makes an impact? That’s the challenge. Will there be an opportunity for filmmakers to pitc
