French helmer Annaud’s Black Gold to Open Doha Film Fest
[ Posted: 17 Sep 2011 ]
By Gautaman Bhaskaran
Black Gold will open the Doha Tribeca Film Festival on October 25. The movie, slotted as a global premiere, offers a rich insight into the Arab world, its traditions, customs and conventions.
Co-produced by the Doha Film Institute and Quinta Communications, and directed by France’s celebrated Jean Jacques Annaud (Enemy at the Gates, Two Brothers, His Majesty Minor), Black Gold was shot in Qatar and Tunisia.
Set in the 1930s, the Annaud work narrates the story of two warring emirs, who eventually find peace through their families and a mutual respect for a “no-man’s land” lying between their kingdoms. However, when oil is struck on the sandy stretch of land, promising new riches, a fresh struggle for control and power begins much to the disquiet of the place.
Starring India’s Frieda Pinto (who rose to fame with Slumdog Millionaire and whose Middle Eastern drama, Miral, premiered at the 2010 Venice), Ethiopian model Liya Kebede, Spanish soccer-player-turned actor Antonio Banderas, French-born Algerian star Tahar Rahim and British actor Mark Strong, the movie’s truly international character gets a further fillip with a song by Qatari singer Fahad al-Kubaisi.
The Festival will screen over 40 movies from the world over, and it hopes to attract a record audience of 50,000 people.