“And the winners are…..” A recap of the THIMUN Qatar Northwestern Film Festival

It has been a great three days here at the THIMUN Qatar Northwestern Film Festival. The event started with Doha’s worst sandstorm in recent memory, but ended with all the glitter and pomp of a gala evening befitting the nominated directors in attendance. Nineteen films were nominated in the categories of Best Sound, Best Poster, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Story, Best National Film, Best Junior Film, and of course, Best Picture. There was also a People’s Choice Award, which was determined by the number of votes at the Gala Dinner plus the number of hits on the film’s YouTube channel.

The Film Festival, now in its sixth year, is a partnership between Northwestern University Qatar and THIMUN Qatar. The goal of the event is to promote the work of aspiring young film makers and to provide an opportunity to come together in Doha to attend film workshops and activities and participate in the Gala evening. The directors of the nominated films came from afar as Ecuador, Taiwan, Afghanistan, India, Singapore, The Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates. as well as from here in Qatar. The event has grown in international prestige and has attracted a wider scope of films than in past years.

The Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony was organized by the THIMUN Qatar Film Festival Executive Team, led by President Mohammed Al Malek. The students were responsible for planning the events, workshops and associated activities during the three day event.

We will be profiling each of our winners on the blog over the next couple of weeks, but for now, here is a quick list of the 2015 Film Festival Winners.

BEST FILM: Cyber Bullying, By Barnady Duffy