Like every year, we visited the Abu Dhabi film festival 2012 VIP lounge, to spend some time with the red carpet people while they are getting prepared for the opening night.

Makeup forever was there with a private lounge, where celebrities were having their makeup and hair fixes. While Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrated its second year as official partner of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, with a nice private luxurious lounge, displaying limited editions, latest collections, and a watchmaker live demo on fixing movement. The highlight at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival was the launch of the new Jaeger-LeCoultre ladies watch in the Middle East: Rendez-Vous.

AbuDhabi Film Festival VIP 2012

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Legendary Egyptian actor, Omar Sharif turned 80 on Tuesday. The highly acclaimed leading man celebrates his birthday with his family and friends with support from all around the world as he remembers a time where he was just an unknown Egyptian man who was recruited by David Lean to star in a now classic film Lawrence of Arabia.

Omar Sharif has been in over 100 films, including playing alongside Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl (1968) and Funny Lady (1975), as well as having two Golden Globe awards, and being nominated for an Oscar.

He is a proud Egyptian who stays true to his roots and sets an example for the young and old alike. It is his originality and loyalty to his heritage that have truly set him apart.

From all of us here at Pingdubai.com we wish Omar Sharif a Happy and Prosperous 80^th Birthday. 

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 A new season of “Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head” to premier on MTV 18 April 2012 

Dubai, UAE (15 April 2012) – MTV is excited to confirm the return of “Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head”!  Bought back to the small screen by creator Mike Judge, our favorite culture critics are dumber than ever – reality TV, the internet and Ultimate Fighting will all be crossing their TV screen in the all-new season.  “Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head” will act as the centrepiece of the channel’s highly popular “MTV VIP” programming block, and will premier Wednesday 18 April at 23:25 KSA.

In 1993, Mike Judge, the show’s creator, and MTV knocked their heads together and launched a cartoon series starring a couple of lunkheads, and unwittingly started an animated pop culture revolution.  Almost as soon as the slacker teenagers in heavy-metal t-shirts reared their heads, Beavis and Butt-Head became self-appointed arbiters of “cool”.  But, for the most part, they spent their time just sitting on a couch making fun of what they watched on television.

Now “Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head”, the show that created a cultural dialogue for an entire generation, will make a triumphant return to unleash its hilarious and biting commentary on society, music and pop culture.  Commenting on everything from music videos, reality TV shows like MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” movies, mixed martial arts, viral videos and more, “Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head” will give familiar fans and a whole new audience the chance to laugh at America’s favorite animated dim-witted duo. Ranking as MTV’s top series among M12-34, behind only megahit “Jersey Shore,” “Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head” doubled the network’s primetime average among M12-34 when it premiered in the US last autumn.

“Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head” premiers Wednesday 18^th April at 23:25 KSA in  MTV VIP.

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“Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, journeys to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by a group of dwarves to reclaim a treasure taken from them by the dragon Smaug. ”

The Hobbit is a two-part epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a film adaptation of the 1937 novel of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien and a prequel to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, returns as director of the film and also serves as producer and co-writer.

The two parts, titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, are being filmed back to back and are in production in New Zealand. The first was released on 14 December 2012 and the second is planned for 13 December 2013.

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

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8th Dubai International Film Festival concludes with glittering Muhr Awards ceremony Dubai, UAE; December 14, 2011: The 8th Dubai International Film Festival, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, concluded with a glittering award ceremony, where outstanding talent from the UAE and the Arab world, Asia and Africa were presented DIFF’s prestigious Muhr Awards. Over the past eight days, the festival screened a vivid showcase of 171 films from 56 nations, hosted live music performances that attracted thousands of spectators, and celebrated the spirit of cultural solidarity through its central credo of ‘Bridging Cultures. Meeting Minds.’

A strong statement on Dubai’s ability to host world-class events, the festival welcomed some of the towering names in cinema from Hollywood, Europe, India, Asia, Africa and the rest of the world. The festival also put the global spotlight on the city with the premiere of Mission:Impossible – Ghost Protocol, shot partly in Dubai. DIFF’s comprehensive script-to-screen industry initiative, the Dubai Film Market, extended co-production, post-production and trade & distribution support, in addition to fostering open discussions on the current trends in cinema and encouraging the development of a new cadre of film journalists. The presentation of the Muhr Awards, the only initiative of its kind with the clearly defined mandate of promoting filmmaking talent in the Arab world, Asia and Africa, brought a perfect culmination to the celebration of the finest in global cinema over eight days.

Some 90 shorts, documentaries and features, selected from over 1,700 entries from 106 countries, had competed for more than 36 Muhr Emirati, Muhr Arab and Muhr AsiaAfrica Awards and over US$600,000 in prize money in addition to invaluable industry connections. They were also eligible for a variety of prestigious global awards including the FIPRESCI International Prize of the Critics Award and the Human Rights Film Network Award. Earlier, DIFF presented its Lifetime Achievement Awards to veteran Egyptian actor and crossover star Gamil Ratib; Oscar- and Grammy-award winning Indian music composer A. R. Rahman and internationally renowned auteur Werner Herzog. The festival also presented the ‘People Who Make a DIFFerence’ Award to Jafar Varzideh, for flying out from Los Angeles since the inaugural edition of DIFF to volunteer at the festival. The DIFF Young Journalist Award and Dubai Film Connection prizes were presented during the festival.

MORE AWARDS…

The du People’s Choice Award: ALS DER WEIHNACHTSMANN VOM HIMMEL FIEL (WHEN SANTA FELL TO EARTH) by Oliver Dieckmann – Germany The annual ‘Prize of the International Critics’ for Arab films from the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), the world’s foremost body of film writers, academics and critics from over 60 countries, were awarded to: • Best Documentary: MARCEDES by Hady Zaccak – Lebanon • Best Short: SUR LA ROUTE DU PARADIS (THE ROAD TO PARADISE) by Uda Benyamina – France • Best Feature: HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) by Susan Youssef – Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE The Human Rights Film Network Award, aimed at encouraging and promoting films that address human rights issues, was won by SHOJI TO TAKAO (SHOJI & TAKAO) by Yoko Ide – Japan. Muhr AsiaAfrica Muhr Asia Africa Shorts: • Second Prize: MEHFUZ (SAFE) by Rohit Pandey – India • Special Jury Prize: TINYE SO by Daouda Coulibaly – Mali • First Prize: MO-EDON PAE-MIL-LI (MODERN FAMILY) by Kwang Bin Kim – South Korea Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary: • Special Mention: JAI BHIM COMRADE by Anand Patwardhan – India • Second Prize: ENDING NOTE (DEATH OF A JAPANESE SALESMAN) by Mami Sunada – Japan • Special Jury Prize: NEGERI DI BAWAH KABUT (THE LAND BENEATH THE FOG) by Shalahuddin Siregar – Indonesia • First Prize: IN FILM NIST (THIS IS NOT A FILM) by Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb – Iran Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature: • Special Mention: Chandani Senevirathne for her role in NIKINI VASSA (AUGUST DRIZZLE) – Sri Lanka • Best Cinematographer: Gökhan Tiryaki for BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU’DA (ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA) – Turkey • Best Editor: Takashi Sato for KITSUTSUKI TO AME (THE WOODSMAN AND THE RAIN) – Japan • Best Composer: Christopher Khoo for TATSUMI – Singapore • Best Scriptwriter: Shuichi Okita for KITSUTSUKI TO AME (THE WOODSMAN AND THE RAIN) – Japan • Best Actress: Phung Ho Hai Lin for TÂM HÕN MĘ (MOTHER’S SOUL) – Vietnam • Best Actor: Kôji Yakusho for KITSUTSUKI TO AME (THE WOODSMAN AND THE RAIN) – Japan • Special Jury Prize: BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU’DA (ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Turkey • Best Film: TATSUMI by Eric Khoo – Singapore Muhr Arab Muhr Arab Shorts: • Special Mention: ZAFIR (BREATHE OUT) by Omar El Zohairy – Egypt • Special Mention: MAKAN YOUA’AD (A PLACE TO GO) by Wajdi Elian – Lebanon • Second Prize: ARD AL ABTAL (LAND OF THE HEROES) by Sahim Omar Kalifa – Iraq • Special Jury Prize: BRÛLEURS (BURNERS) by Farid Bentoumi – France • First Prize: SUR LA ROUTE DU PARADIS (THE ROAD TO PARADISE) by Uda Benyamina – France Muhr Arab Documentary: • Special Mention: LA KHAOUFA BAADA AL’YAOUM (NO MORE FEAR) by Mourad Ben Cheikh – Tunisia • Second Prize: ICI, ON NOIE LES ALGERIENS – 17 OCTOBRE 1961 (HERE WE DROWN ALGERIANS – OCTOBER 17TH, 1961) by Yasmina Adi – France • Special Jury Prize: HALABJA – THE LOST CHILDREN by Akram Hidou – Iraq, Germany, Syria • First Prize: SECTOR ZERO by Nadim Mishlawi – Lebanon, UAE Muhr Arab Feature: • Cinematographer: Raphael Bauche for SHI GHADI OU SHI JAY (BOILING DREAMS) – Morocco • Best Editor: Susan Youssef and Man Kit Lam for HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) – Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE • Best Composer: Le Trio Jubran for AL JUMA AL AKHEIRA (THE LAST FRIDAY) Jordan, UAE • Best Scriptwriter: Hakim Belabbes for SHI GHADI OU SHI JAY (BOILING DREAMS) – Morocco • Best Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi for HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) – Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE • Best Actor: Ali Suliman for AL JUMA AL AKHEIRA (THE LAST FRIDAY) – Jordan, UAE • Special Jury Prize: AL JUMA AL AKHEIRA (THE LAST FRIDAY) by Yahya Alabdallah – Jordan, UAE • Best Film: HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) by Susan Youssef – Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE Muhr Emirati • Special Mention: LONDON IN A HEADSCARF by Mariam Al Sarkal – UK • Second Prize: AKHIR DECEMBER (END OF DECEMBER) by Hamad Al Hammadi – UAE • Special Jury Prize: CHILDREN by Mohammad Fikree – UAE • First Prize: AMAL by Nujoom Alghanem – UAE The award-winning films will be screened on December 16 at the Mall of the Emirates Vox Cinemas. The Investment Corporation of Dubai is the title sponsor of the Dubai International Film Festival, held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, home to the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The Festival is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. For more information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

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The musical journey takes a new realm at The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence, the venue of DIFF’s Rhythm & Reel screenings with the live performance of The Silence Project, following the world premiere of Silence: All Roads Lead to Music at 8 pm. Directed by Haider Rashid, the film charts the genius of an unusual combination of musicians who meet for the first time for a one-off music concert to be held during an Arab film festival in southern Italy. The musicians’ journey takes viewers through the intense search for a unique sound that blends Sicilian, Arabic, jazz and world music into the realm of the purest music. The film will be screened again on Dec. 13, 12 pm, at MoE 4.

While on music, DIFF also brings Grammy Award winning recording artist Madonna’s directorial venture – W.E. The film charts two parallel love stories separated by more than six decades but connected by two fragile but determined women. It will screen at 7.45pm at First Gulf Theatre at Madinat Jumeirah.

A gripping drama from South Korea, Come Rain, Come Shine will offer a new cinema experience for audiences at 9.15 pm at Mall of the Emirates Vox Cinemas 9. Directed by Lee Yoon-Ki, the film is about a young woman who talks to her husband about leaving him for another man, but fate forces them to spend another day together. A second screening of the movie will be held on Dec. 14, 11.15 am at MoE 8.

Several powerful documentaries and feature films from the Arab world will also be screened on Friday. Director Taghreed Elsanhouri’s Our Beloved Sudan makes its world premiere at 5.30 pm at MoE 6, followed by a second screening on Dec. 11, 4.15 pm at MoE 4. It documents the political destiny of the Sudanese nation- from its birth in 1956 to its eventual partition in 2011.

Another world premiere is that of Marcedes by Lebanese filmmaker Hady Zaccak. It is a feature biopic chronicling the history and transformation of the country through the perspective of a car and its family. The film will debut at 10.30 pm at MoE 6 followed by a second screening on Dec. 11, 12 pm at MoE 6.

Also making its world premiere is director Simon El Habre’s Gate #5, which retraces the lives of Lebanese truck drivers through the 1960s to the present day. The film will be screened at 8 pm at MoE 6 followed by a second screening on Dec. 11 at 2.30 pm at MoE 6.

Palestinian director Laith Al-Juneidi’s The Invisible Policeman, makes its international premiere at DIFF at 3.30 pm at MoE 5, and will be screened again on Dec. 12 at 8.15 pm at MoE 7. The film is about a policeman who shares walls with his adversary.

Boiling Dreams, a feature by Moroccan director Hakim Belabbes makes its world premiere at DIFF at 10.15 pm at MoE 12. The story of a young father of two who plans an illegal crossing into Spain, the feature film will be screened again on Dec. 11, 1 pm at MoE 12.

Indian film lovers will have a full day to celebrate the diversity of the country’s cinema. At 2 pm, First Group Theatre will screen the international premiere of director Srijit Mukherji’s 7th August, a Bengali film that explores the dark underbelly of Kolkata; and at 5.15 pm, the same venue will host the world premiere of Akam, a Malayalam film directed by Shalini Usha Nair, on a man’s perfect life turning upside down when a terrible accident traumatizes him. 7th August will also screen on Dec. 10 at 2.15 pm at MoE 2, and Akam at 11.30 pm at MoE 12.

Accomplished filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s Jai Bhim Comrade (2.30 pm at MoE 12); the international permiere of Kaushik Ganguly’s Laptop starring Rahul Bose (10.30 pm, First Group Theatre); a second screening of Maithanam, directed by Muthuswamy Sakthivel (7.00 pm; MoE 12) and the Amir Khan-starrer Lagaaan, the Academy Award nominee in the Foreign Film category, screened to mark the DIFF Lifetime Achivement Honour for music composer A.R. Rahman (2.45 pm, MoE 10) are among other Indian film selections on Friday.

For those who the adventure of dark thrillers that send a shiver up the spine is Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto’s Kotoko, a terrifying psychological thriller about a deeply disturbed young mother who suffers from overpowering frightening fantasies. The film will be screened at 11.59 pm at MoE 1 followed by a second screening on Dec. 10 at 9.30 pm at MoE 5.

Marking the tribute to German cinema in its In Focus segment, DIFF will screen director Verena S. Freytag’s Burnout at 4.30 pm at MoE 7, followed by a screening on Dec. 10 at 8.30 pm. The film is a powerful portrait of motherhood in which a single mother tends to the needs of three children by three different fathers.

The DIFF box office is open online at www.dubaifilmfest.com and at the DIFF box offices in Dubai Media City, JBR The Walk, Mall of the Emirates and Madinat Jumeirah. Additional information is also available through the Festival’s dedicated customer care number, 363 FILM (3456).

The Investment Corporation of Dubai is the title sponsor of the Dubai International Film Festival, which is held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, home to the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The Festival is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. For more and updated information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

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One of the Festival’s popular special screening segments, ‘Midnight Mayhem’ offers twisted tales from around the world guaranteed to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

This year, Midnight Mayhem includes up and coming British director Ben Wheatley’s Kill List and Japanese filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto’s Kotoko. Both films will screen for the first time in the Middle East.

Kill List, a favourite on the festival circuit, begins as a crime thriller before heading into nightmare territory. When Jay’s debt begins to overshadow his suburban life, his wife, and his son, he finds himself on the verge of a breakdown; but things take a wicked twist when his old business partner and friend persuade him to take up a new mission. Although he is guaranteed an irresistible reward, the nature of the mission causes Jay’s moral fibres to plummet into depths of paranoia and violence. Kill List will be screened at midnight on Dec. 8 and 9, at Mall of the Emirates Cinema 1.

Japanese genre master Shinya Tsukamoto’s Kotoko follows the story of a deeply disturbed mother who suffers frightening double vision. Foreseeing death around every corner, Kotoko tries to protect her young son, but finds herself spiraling out of control. When Tanaka, a novelist observing her behavior, offers temporary comfort, Kotoko finds that peace is short-lived. The film will be screened at midnight on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, at Mall of the Emirates Cinema 5.

Sheila Whitaker, Director of DIFF’s International Programming, said: “Independent cinema today offers horror and thrillers that surprise viewers with their narrative strength. This year, the ‘Midnight Mayhem’ segment features the best of indie horror films which will be a new experience for fans of this genre.”

DIFF 2011 will screen 171 films from 56 nations representing the best of national, regional and world cinema between December 7 and 14 at the Mall of the Emirates, Madinat Jumeirah and The Walk at JBR.

The DIFF box office is now open online at www.dubaifilmfest.com and at the DIFF box offices in Dubai Media City, JBR The Walk, Mall of the Emirates and Madinat Jumeirah. Additional information is also available through the Festival’s dedicated customer care number, 363 FILM (3456).

The Investment Corporation of Dubai is the title sponsor of the Dubai International Film Festival, which is held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, home to the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The Festival is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. For more and updated information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

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The award, sponsored by Variety, the globally respected film industry magazine, is presented to one film professional annually at DIFF in acknowledgment of their contribution to the industry. Last year, DIFF presented the Award to Colin Firth, the Academy Award winner, whose award-winning film The King’s Speech also opened the seventh edition of the festival.

Best known for his work in buddy comedies, he shared screen-space from the world’s top actors – from long-time friend Ben Stiller to Eddie Murphy and Jackie Chan, Wilson’s filmography also includes work in drama, romantic comedy, and action films. His repertoire of films, as an actor, includes popular hits: Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights; Starsky & Hutch; The Darjeeling Limited; You, Me, and Dupree; Cars; Marley & Me; and Behind Enemy Lines.

As co-producer and co-writer, Wilson proved his credentials by bagging an Academy Award nomination for the script of The Royal Tenenbaums.

Shivani Pandya, Managing Director, Dubai International Film Festival, said: “Owen Wilson, through his lively characters, has brought cheer to the lives of millions of people around the world. His films stand for the delightful and broad appeal of Hollywood, and we are delighted to welcome and celebrate this versatile, hard-working actor in Dubai.”

An exclusive public ‘In Conversation with Owen Wilson’ Q&A event will be held during the course of the Festival.

DIFF2011 will screen 171 films from 56 nations representing the best of national, regional and world cinema between December 7 and 14 at the Mall of the Emirates, Madinat Jumeirah and The Walk at JBR. The DIFF box office is now open at www.dubaifilmfest.com. Additional information is also available through the Festival’s dedicated customer care number, 363 FILM (3456).

The Investment Corporation of Dubai is the title sponsor of the Dubai International Film Festival. The eighth edition of DIFF is held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, home to the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The Festival is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. For more and updated information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

The post Hollywood Star Owen Wilson to Receive Variety’s ‘International Star of the Year’ Award at DIFF 2011 appeared first on Ping Dubai.

The award-winning films, selected by industry veteran and former London Film Festival director Sheila Whitaker, include features and documentaries from the United States, Mexico, Italy, Finland, France, Argentina, Spain and Turkey as well as the best from Hollywood.l

The Spanish film Las Acacias, a feature directed by Pablo Giorgelli, marks its Dubai date following its triumph at the Cannes Film Festival 2011, where it won the Camera d’Or. A heart-warming road-movie, it narrates the story of a lonely truck driver whose routine is thrown off-guard when he is forced to give a lift to a woman and her eight-month-old child in a road journey of 1,500 kilometres.

The segment also includes Le Havre, a FIPRESCI winner at Cannes and the Arri-Zeiss Award Winner at Munich Film Festival. Directed by Aki Kaurismäki, the Finland/France/Germany production is about a shoe-shiner who tries to save an immigrant child in a French port city. The film’s rich humanist sub-texts on racism and illegal immigrant issues have struck a chord around the world.

From Italy, director Alice Rohrwacher’s Corpo Celeste is the story of 13-year-old Marta, who has returned to southern Italy from Switzerland. The resettling is not easy and she is constantly tested against the boundaries of an unfamiliar city. The film was awarded the Silver Ribbon by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

Two documentaries in the selection also explore some of the most interesting arts stories of our time from photojournalism and jazz.

Directed by Trisha Ziff and co-produced by Mexico, Spain and the US, The Mexican Suitcase charts the rediscovery of three boxes containing some 4,500 negatives of photographs taken by legendary photojournalists Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David Seymour during the Spanish Civil War, which were misplaced in the chaos at the start of World War II.

The American The Girls in The Band directed by Judy Chaikin, is an inspiring story about female jazz musicians and big band instrumentalists from the 1930s jazz era and their journey to the present day.

From Mexico, director Juan Carlos Rulfo’s Carriere 250 Meters paints a portrait of writer Jean Claude Carriere, who famously remarks that between the house he was born the cemetery in which he will end is a life journey of just 250 metres. In unraveling the life of the writer, the documentary takes the viewers through Paris, New York and India.

Finally, the George Clooney-starrer The Descendants will also screen to DIFF audiences. The film, directed by Academy Award-winner Alexander Payne, is based on the eponymous novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings and follows a land baron in Hawaii who tries to reconnect with his daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.

Sheila Whitaker, Director of the Festival’s International Programme, said: “It is always such a pleasure to cinematically travel the world and find films that must surely please DIFF audiences and this year has been no exception”

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Artistic Director, Dubai International Film Festival, said: “The films in our Cinema of the World selection deliver on our promise to bring the best of world cinema to UAE audiences. Not only do they span nations, genres and subjects, many of these films are making their Middle East debuts at DIFF; others are making their international premieres – a measure of the trust that global studios have in our Festival.”

Additional titles will be added to the world cinema lineup later this week. All DIFF films will be screened at VOX Cinemas, Mall of the Emirates, or at the Madinat Jumeirah. The DIFF Box Office opens November 22, 2011.

The eighth edition of DIFF will be held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, the home of the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The Festival is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.

Accreditation for the Festival is now open. For more details, log on to www.dubaifilmfest.com. For more and updated information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

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Organised by the Friends of the Arabic Cinema, Berlin e.V, ALFILM showcases 60 films from the Arab world, centred on two themes – the main platform being movies on the Arab Spring and the other, a Focus segment on humour in Arab cinema. The festival also has a Retrospective segment, this year honouring Lebanese directors Borhan Alouié and Maroun Baghdadi. Now in its third edition, ALFILM selects films that are rarely screened in European theatres.

Among the films chosen from the UAE include Abdulla Al Kaabi’s The Philosopher, based on ‘Baggio’s Story’ by Charlie Fish, about a successful Parisian, a pianist, footballer and bon vivant who decides to rid himself of all his possessions; and Hamad Al Hammadi’s End of December in which an old man’s room catches fire.

Emirati director Ali Mostafa’s City of Life, which opened the third Gulf Film Festival, will also be screened, along with Elham Sharaf and Hind Al Hammadi’s Finding Mr. & Mrs. Right: Dubai Style, which depicts Dubai’s new generation talking about the search for their perfect match.

Iraq is represented by Oday Rasheed’s Qarantina, the story of a professional killer in Baghdad, whose clients get increasingly frustrated with him while he continues to murder people independently; and Jassim Mohammed Jassim’s Self-Illuminated, a look at every individual’s battle between facing reality or a fantasy of their own making.

From Kuwait is Abdullah Boushahri’s Heaven’s Water, which made its premiere at the seventh Dubai International Film Festival. It narrates the story of a peddler who gets involved with a pregnant girl looking for a way out.

Another selection from the Gulf is Saudi Arabian director Abdullah El-Eyaf’s Aayesh, the story of a man who finds himself in the most unpredictable of times. Also to be screened is Danish director Ala’A Mohsen’s Child of Iraq depicting his journey to rediscovering his Iraqi roots.

A number of films screened in earlier editions of DIFF that reflect the sense of humour in Arab cinema will be screened in the Focus 11 segment of ALFILM. Focus 11 captures Arab humour in all forms – comic, political satire, wit, sarcasm, subtle irony and black humour.

Among the selection is Algeria’s entry for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars 2008, Masquerades, which premiered at DIFF 2008 and won the Muhr Arab Award and the FIPRESCI Award under the category of ‘Best Film’. Directed by Lyes Salem, the film has a rich raft of humour, narrating the story of an arrogant man, who has only dream – to be appreciated by his fellow citizens.

Also to be screened in Focus 11 are V.H.S – Kahloucha by Tunisian filmmaker Nejib Belkadhi, a fun film about a house painter who dreams of becoming a film director and actor; and Belgian filmmaker Nabil Ben Yadir’s Les Barons, a family drama set in modern-day Brussels, which narrates the story of Hassan, Aziz, and Mounir, who lead a life of pleasant apathy, spend their days loading around in unhurried torpor.

Other films at ALFILM, screened earlier at DIFF include: Nomad’s Home (Beit Sha’ar) by Egyptian filmmaker Iman Kamel, offering a portrait of two Arab women born in different social and cultural circumstances within contemporary Egypt; Fix Me by film-maker Raed Andoni, which explores the collective and individual psyches of modern-day Palestinians; and Casanegra, by director Nour-Eddine Lakhmari, which won the Muhr Arab awards for Best Actor and Best Cinematographer at DIFF 2008. The film is about friendship, yearning and the cruelties of fate suffused with the violent, chaotic authenticity of the Moroccan streets.

The Retrospective 2011 segment features another DIFF-winner, Khalass by director Borhane Aalouié. The film won the Muhr Arab awards for Best Editor and Best Scriptwriter at DIFF 2007, and charts a series of events from the lives of three individuals, set against Beirut, which is going through a phase of renewal and reconstruction.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Artistic Director of the Dubai International Film Festival, said: “Germany is a strong supporter of the Arab film industry, building on the centuries-old trade and social relations with the Arab world. The Arab Film Festival Berlin will serve as an ideal platform to present a strong roster of films reflecting the rich cinematic talent in the region. By screening their movies at the festival, filmmakers from the region Gulf can further expand their reach to a wider audience.”

DIFF is held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, the home of the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The Festival is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.

Accreditation for the Festival is now open. For more details, log on to www.dubaifilmfest.com. For more and updated information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com or join DIFF on  and

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