Film has the potential to change people’s lives and attitudes, according to a local expert who explained that being involved in cinema can help to eradicate ignorance and encourage cultural understanding.Animator and filmmaker Rahab Elewaly has been involved in the Doha Film Institute’s educational programmes over the past year, and this week she has been mentoring the three students set to visit the Giffoni Film Festival in the coming days.With three students set to visit from Qatar for the first time, the institute (DFI) has been running an orientation programme over the past three days, and she spoke with Gulf Times about the importance of film in personal development and addressing cultural issues, discussing the advice she presented to the youngsters.She said that although it is difficult to pinpoint the power of film on an individual basis, she argued that any film can change people’s lives.“Every film can help you realise the power of cinema – films are made to make you laugh and cry and change our lives,” she noted. “Films can make you a different person and help you resolve personal conflicts.”“I tried to give them some tips about the amount of work that goes into animation and filmmaking,” she said, adding: “I wanted to help them identify what to look for in a project or film.”However, the impact of film and participation in the Giffoni festival will educate the students in far more fundamental issues and aspects of personal development, and she tried to make them aware of the significance of film and the event to their identity and culture.“I told them to trust their hearts and how they feel and not to be pressured into anything,” she said. “Different movies speak to different people.”“They will be meeting people from all over the world and I told them not to be scared of who they are,” she said, “and I told them to look for similarities in all the people they meet, rather than the differences.”“Giffoni gives youngsters the opportunity to young people to voice their opinion and just speak their minds,” she noted. – By Peter Townson