Qatar opened Thursday at the film festival in Doha. The gala evening was held at the Museum of Islamic Art, a magical place designed by the architect Pei to whom we owe the Louvre Pyramid. Many personalities of the cinema have made the trip, such as director Martin Scorsese, Jean Jacques Annaud and Elia Suleiman, but also the beautiful muse L’Oreal, Afef Jnifen.

Saturday on the sidelines of the festival and at the same place, Princess Sheikha Al Massaya, daughter of the Emir of Qatar, gave a gala evening for its association Rota (Reach Out to Asia). This charitable organization helps the poor, particularly in Asia, and directs its action on education.

The huge Cher made the trip for this great evening. The icon has made a break from her marathon series of concerts in Las Vegas where she performed last year. As it did before Tom Jones, Celine Dion and Elton John, the singer offers a Believe show at the height of eccentricity at Caesars Palace.

In the late 60s, with Sonny Bono Cher formed a duo that was a huge success. Together they had a daughter who recently became … a man Chaz Bono, flourishing today alongside his girlfriend Jennifer Elia. Cher then pursued a solo career and a string of film roles as The Witches of Eastwick (recently adapted into TV series) and Lightning Moon which earned him an Oscar for best actress.

In 1987, Cher revived her recording career after a five-year hiatus, under the coordination of rock producer and A&R man John Kalodner.

Now with Geffen Records, Cher released the first of three highly successful rock albums, featuring songwriting contributions from the likes of Diane Warren, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child, Mark Mangold and Michael Bolton.Darlene Love and Bonnie Tyler provided guest vocals.

Cher was released in 1987, and featured the comeback single “I Found Someone” written by Michael Bolton and Mark Mangold (previously a minor hit for Laura Branigan), as well as “We All Sleep Alone” (#14, 1988). The album was a big hit, being certified Platinum in the U.S. and selling three million copies worldwide.

In 1989, Cher released the album Heart of Stone. As on her previous album, Michael Bolton, Jon Bon Jovi, Diane Warren and Desmond Child handled songwriting and/or producing duties. The album was originally released with cover artwork featuring Cher sitting in front of a heart made of stone, creating the illusion of a skull. Heart of Stone would prove to be very successful, having sold 5,100,000 copies worldwide, and certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA.

The album’s biggest hit came with the rock hymn “If I Could Turn Back Time”, which topped the charts in Australia for seven non-consecutive weeks, peaked at #3 in the U.S., reached #6 in the UK[81] and charted in various other countries around the globe. Further hits from the album were “Just Like Jesse James”, “Heart of Stone”, and it also contained the hit duet with Peter Cetera, “After All”, #6 in U.S.

The video for “If I Could Turn Back Time” caused controversy, because in it Cher wore a skimpy, see-through net outfit, which revealed a “butterfly” tattoo on her buttocks. Many networks on television, including MTV, initially refused to air the video because of the “partial nudity”. MTV network eventually played the video, but only after 9 p.m.

Cher launched the Heart of Stone Tour, which played throughout 1989 and 1990 in various parts of the world. She also starred in the television special Cher Live at the Mirage, which was filmed during a live concert in Las Vegas.

Among the other guests, the artist Jeff Koons Versailles, which had returned with a large exhibition last year, and ex-husband of La Cicciolina – was accompanied by his new wife. Cherie Blair, the vivacious wife of former Prime Minister Blair anglaisTony, played the game of a thousand and one nights in djellaba.

Director Mira Nair soon to be released with Amelia starring Hilary Swank and Sir Ben Kingsley and his wife Daniela Lavender also attended the event. This great stage actor will soon be showing two highly anticipated films: Prince of Persia and Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island.

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