The greatness of Qumra, the annual industry event held by the Doha Film Institute to help connect, inspire and encourage filmmakers, lies in its diversity of activities. From the daily working breakfasts with some of the most well-respected festival directors and programmers, sales agents and producers to the Masterclasses with cinema greats, from its Qumra Talks to the networking sessions held each afternoon just around the corner from my hotel, there is a buzz of activity at any given moment and even a non-filmmaker like me can feel the excitement of great cinema in the making.
Read MoreThe Dubai Film Festival Diaries: Sir Patrick Stewart, ‘Sharp Tools’ and ‘Harry Potter’ at the Opera
This place never ceases to surprise me. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, has stated that he wishes the Emirate to become an open air art gallery by the time it will host Expo 2020. And in fact, at every corner during my stay here for the Dubai International Film Festival, I’ve experience art, beauty and film.
I mean, where else in the world can you sit listening to Sir Patrick Stewart talk film and life, watch a cool cultural Emirati film like ‘Sharp Tools’ by Nujoom Al Ghanem and then walk over to a turtle sanctuary just behind your hotel, at Jumeirah Al Naseem all in one day? If you said Dubai, you got it.
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