After four film festivals together and a slew of cultural tie-ups, the Doha Film Institute and Tribeca Enterprises are ending their partnership, the groups have announced in a joint statement to the media.

No official reason was given for the split, but a DFI spokeswoman told Doha News that the agreement between the two companies had “ended successfully” and that “it was just time to do something different.”

Though there will no longer be a Doha Tribeca Film Festival, DFI said it will announce a new program format during next month’s Cannes Film Festival in France. In a statement, CEO Abdulaziz Al-Khater said:

“With DFI having successfully formed strong community and industry bonds, the new festival format will build on the passion for filmmaking from talent in the region and around the world.

We are defining a new niche for the film festival, which will serve as a platform for strengthening a home-grown film industry as well as continuing to build our international relationships to promote Qatar as a cultural hub.” 

For its part, Tribeca, named after a New York neighborhood that is home to the film festival of the same name, said:

“We partnered with Doha Film Institute to help launch an event that would create a sustainable foundation for the growth of a film community and industry in Qatar and the Middle East. As exemplified by DTFF, we share a common goal with DFI: to engage, entertain and inspire in equal measure in a region with a profound and growing interest in film.

After four years of successful cultural partnership, the festival has grown immensely and reflects our mutual vision for an event to promote cultural understanding and community through film and education. We are proud of everything DFI and Tribeca have achieved together, and we wish DFI the very best as they move forward with their festival and year-round initiatives.”

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Credit: Photo by Omar Chatriwala