DTFF was a fabulous, or often surreal, and totally unique experience. Doha wasn't new to me of course, since I'd filmed there for Team Qatar, but the shoot had been so hectic - it was really nice to be able to relax, look around without thinking about filming, seethe kids in the film and their families, and meet other students from Doha who were interested in debating.
The Doha Talks debate event organized after our 2nd screening at the museum was really entertaining and I was very impressed by the kids - and meet an impressive array of festival guests. The turnout on opening and closing nights was extraordinary.
Having filmed with kids from Doha last year I know there were plenty of complaints that there wasn't enough to do in the city (a typical teen complaint everywhere in the world) but obviously there was a huge appetite for these events, among Qataris & expat residents from around the world. As one of the kids in my film said when I asked her what her friends were saying about the festival, "it's the most interesting thing that's ever happened in Doha."
On another note: There was a strange resonance for me on opening night. As I was getting ready to leave my room, Al Jazeera was reporting on the festivities at the museum, and I noticed on the news crawl that there had been a suicide bombing at a guest house in Kabul. My first experience with Tribeca was premiering "The Beauty Academy of Kabul" in 2004; which seemed a good match at the time, as TFF was founded to revitalize lower Manhattan after the terror attacks & the film provided another view of the country the US had gone to war with as a result of those attacks.
The news hit home for me because I remember Kabul so vividly, and the sense of optimism there in 2003 turns out to have been so terribly misplaced. And yet I had agreed to make this film about a debate team from Qatar precisely because I believe in dialogue and bridges between the Islamic world and the west, in countering stereotypes, etc - motives that also underly DTFF. It was sort of chilling to think that the existence of DTFF and my presence there both grew out of the same tragedies - but of course these events effected the world, in ways we often don't even realize.
Though I admit to feeling some guilt that evening at the opening night reception in the beautiful MIA - guilt for ignoring the conflicts - I wouldn't be a filmmaker if I didn't believe that this kind of story telling, bringing the world together, revealing surprising similarities between people who would never meet- is very important. And that's why DTFF is (not to make this sound like an ad, but it's true) a great thing, & I hope it continues, with even more outreach across the Middle East and the entire Islamic world - including Africa & SE Asia.