The Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF), Qatar's first film event, is set to be staged from October 29 to November 1. The festival's declared mission is to create a hub for regional filmmakers in the Arab state through education initiatives and community involvement, reports Reuters. The New York Tribeca Film festival was originally founded by actor Robert DeNiro after 9/11 to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of cinema by redefining the film festival experience.

The Doha festival will host about 30 films, a third of them Middle Eastern Arab films. Amanda Palmer, executive director of the festival, told Reuters in a telephone interview, "While there is a large pool of local talent in Qatar and the region, who are interested in making films, it needs to be tapped into and educated."

The festival seeks to specifically emphasize the training, engagement and education of local emerging and aspiring screen-writers and filmmakers. The United Arab Emirates have become a place for budding filmmakers in the region to showcase their work, and although Qatar is primarily known as a business center and is the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, it is now aiming to mold itself into a cultural capital for the region. Qatar also hosts the Al-Jazeera Documentary Film Festival.

Palmer comments that Doha's Tribeca festival will differ from its regional counterparts due to its "community-minded" agenda, and expects greater engagement from the local population.

According to the Examiner, the Festival will offer an unprecedented opportunity to celebrate cinema, culture, education and community in Qatar.

While most of the DTFF action will take place at the Museum of Islamic Art, the cinema buzz will extend to Souk Waqif, hotspot hotels such as the W and Four Seasons, and other choice venues around Doha.

The festival has launched a new website providing information about the upcoming event, notes Digital Productions Middle East. The website, DohaTribecaFilm.com, includes ticketing information, screening times, event schedules, and other multimedia clips detailing the culture and heritage of Qatar.

"The traction we've already gotten though Facebook, Ikbis and our other social networking tools shows a real hunger out there for our content," remarked Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, web content producer. The team said putting up the website was a must as people interested about the upcoming festival have been clamoring for more information.

Other special features on DohaTribecaFilm.com include a Flickr photo gallery of film enthusiasts' photos documenting the build-up to the Festival, a Doha/NY blog linking DTFF to the New York Tribeca community, and hours of film-centric programming from the Doha-based "Fabulous Picture Show."

One-on-one interviews, dynamic video content, and opportunities for the community to get involved in competitions, workshops and other special events are other highlights of the official website.