The star-power wattage was off the DTFF scale yesterday. A press conference was held in the afternoon to discuss the new wave of cinema in Egypt. DTFF Jury President Hend Sabry was joined by fellow high-profile Egyptian performers Khaled Abol Naga, Yosra and Nelly Kareem, as well as powerhouse producer Mohamed Hefzy of Film Clinic, who produced Maggie M. Morgan’s ‘Asham: A Man Called Hope’ – catch it today at 4:15 PM at Katara 12.

Yosra set the tone for the discussion, noting that in the 60s and 70s, over 120 films were made every year, while now Egypt produces far, far fewer. Hefzy added that the crisis in the Egyptian film industry started alongside the global financial crisis in 2009, while Sabry pointed out that the key concern is not one of quality. Kareem said that Egyptian film talent must take more interest in creating a film production culture by taking more ownership, while Abol Naga, highlighted the reduction in corporate support for filmmaking.

In the evening, Robert De Niro took to the stage with his signature charisma in a conversation with Tribeca Enterprises CCO Geoff Gilmore. De Niro reflected on some of the more unique moments of his long and illustrious career, as well as his current role in David O. Russell’s “‘Silver Linings Playbook’”;https://www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival/films/silver-linings-playbook, which screens at DTFF today at 8:00 PM and Friday, 23 November at 6:00 PM (both shows at the Al Rayyan Theatre in Souq Waqif).

Check out Day 2 in pictures here

As an accompaniment to DTFF’s opener, ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ – which screens again on Friday, 23 November at 4:00 PM at the Katara Drama Theatre – director Mira Nair discussed the making of her film in a discussion that also featured Marian Lacombe’s behind-the-scenes documentary that captured Nair’s creative process as she made her landmark film.

The action on the red carpet was high-pitch as our Made in Qatar programme saw its launch last night, with a screening of ‘Lyrics Revolt’, a film by local filmmakers Shannon Farhoud, Ashlene Ramadan, Melanie Fridgant and Rana Khaled Al Khatib that was started as a student project at Northwestern University in Qatar. The four women have recently launched their own production company, Torath Media Production – look for more regional documentaries from them in the future. The screening also featured two shorts – Hend Fakhroo’s ‘His Name’ and Youssef Jabre’s ‘Hystoria’ – and made for a great evening to kick off our celebration of homegrown talent. Look for more Made in Qatar titles over the rest of the week.

‘Lyrics Revolt’, as its title cleverly suggests, is about current Arab hip-hop culture, which is one of an arsenal of tools being used by regional youth to make their voices heard in this period of massive social change. Clearly, a hip-hop show was a required element of the evening, and we sure got one – Omar Offendum, Arabian Knightz, Malikah and Farah Abdellatif rapped and beatboxed their way through a set that kept the audience hyped up throughout the evening.