Everything you need to know about DIFF

CAIRO – 7 December 2017: The 14th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) will run between December 6 and December 14.
DIFF management chose to screen the American movie "Hostiles" in the opening ceremony.

The story of "Hostiles" starts with a native tribe killing a family, in the wilderness of Arizona. Only the mother Rosalie survives the attack but she is severely traumatized. Later she meets Captain Blocker and his soldiers, who are escorting home a long-time army prisoner to his ancestral lands in Montana.

Rosalie joins Blocker and his soldiers. They traverse Comanche territory, where local tribes attack anyone who crosses their land and Rosalie, Blocker and the soldiers had to fight the local tribes. "Hostiles" stars Christian Bale, Peter Mullan, Rosamund Pike, Adam Beach, Wes Studi, Q'orianka Kilcher, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane and Ben Foster. The movie is written by Scott Cooper, John Lesher and Ken Kao and directed by Scott Cooper.

This edition of the festival will honor the veteran writer Wahid Hamed, the famous actor Patrick Stewart and the well-known Indian actor Irrfan Khan.

"Zahret al-Sabar" (Cactus Flower) is the only Egyptian movie that will represent Egypt in the Muhr Feature competition at the 14th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival.

"Zahret al-Sabar" revolves around an Egyptian actress named Aida who has provincial roots and is struggling to make her way to the top. Aida suddenly finds herself kicked out of her house along with her old reclusive bourgeois neighbor Samiha.

Both have no money and nowhere to go at first but then the two women meet a young guy named Yassin, while roaming in the streets of Cairo. The three of them attempt to find shelter for the night. Their journey is full of tough moments and challenges just like thorns of a cactus, yet it is considered a personal journey for each of the three individuals.

An extraordinary unplanned friendship grows between Aida, Samiha and Yassin like a dazzling flower blooming from a thorny cactus.

The movie stars Menha al-Batraoui, Salma Samy and Marwan al-Azab, directed and written by Hala al-Khoussy.

The Festival management chose veteran Egyptian director Magdy Ahmed Aly to head the "Muhr Emirati" competition.

"Muhr Emirati" contains long and short films; "Muhr Emirati" is expected to honor prominent Emirati and Arab personalities in the cinema industry. The festival chose Aly to represent the category after the participation of his latest successful movie "Mawlana." The movie “Mawlana” was well received by the festival, the audience and the cinema critics.

DIFF has previously announced that 11 films will be participating in the Arabian Nights segment as part of its 14th edition.

"Arabian Nights is one of the most highly anticipated categories each December, as it celebrates the cultural diversity within the Arab region through the exceptional medium of film. This year’s lineup tackles pressing issues facing the world today and aims to overcome these boundaries, bringing communities together through compelling storytelling," said Delphine Garde-Mroueh, Arabian Nights Programmer in a press statement by DIFF.

Featuring regional and international filmmakers who shed light on the Arab culture, the festival’s Arabian Nights will screen Egyptian film "Introduced Labor" by film writer Khaled Diab. The movie is showcasing the story of an Egyptian couple who take control of the American Embassy in Egypt after being denied entry to the United States.

Another Egyptian film will premiere at the festival which is "Kiss Me Not" by Egyptian-American writer and director Ahmed Amer. "Kiss Me Not" will be closing the Arabian Nights lineup. The film revolves around a director, Tamer, who struggles to deal with an actress, who quits a kissing scene and the whole film industry after she decides to wear Hijab. The film stars Yasmine Rais, the award winning director Khairy Beshara, Sawsan Badr, with an honorary to the late renowned director Mohammed Khan and Mohamed Mahan. Amer has previously released the worldwide recognized hit film "Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim."

"Since its inception, Arabian Nights has served as a platform for Arab and international filmmakers to cross borders and tell stories that address very real themes in the Arab world with compassion and creativity. We know this year’s slate will bring incredible and unique perspectives to the fore, and I know DIFF audiences will be as engrossed as I will," DIFF’s artistic director, Masoud Amralla al-Ali, commented on this year’s program lineup.

Dubai Film Connection (DFC), the co-production of Dubai Film Market, has selected 13 regional film projects to take place during the 14th edition of DIFF.

DFC will provide the required funding and connection to support regional filmmakers, according to an official statement released on DIFF’s website. "DFC has helped to bring more than 300 films from across the Arab world to global audiences, securing them international recognition on the way."

A number of institutions will provide financial prizes such as Centre National du Cinema (CNC), the Arab Radio and Television (ART), and DIFF.
The selected films will represent nine countries: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, Iraq and Sudan.

"I Dreamt of An Empire" is the only Egyptian film on the short list of DFC selected films.

It was produced in 2013 by Kasem Kharsa from Egypt and Jessica Landt from Germany. The events of the film take place in 1980; it revolves around a professor called Musa who lost his son in Egypt’s war against Israel in 1956.

Three Egyptian films will be screened at the festival: "Sheikh Jackson," "Withered Green," and "Whose Country."
DIFF chose eight films to participate in Muhr Short Film Competition which are "The Crossing," "The President’s Visit," "Blue Fly Road," "City Soul," "Tashwesh," "Mediterranean," "When the Sky Began to Scream," and the Egyptian short movie "Into Reverse." Premiering at DIFF, "Into Reverse" is directed by Noha Adel, and captures the daily struggles female drivers in Egypt have to deal with.
Cinema for Children returns to the 14th edition of Dubai International Film Festival, which will run from December 6 to 13, with an exciting mix of films.

"As with previous years, we are all thrilled at the DIFF and devoted to showcasing the finest family films in the Cinema for Children. Tantalizing stories stemming from four different continents will touch hearts and minds, inspiring children and parents alike,” said DIFF’s Cinema for Children program manager Myrna Maakaron.

DIFF will showcase well over 120 original films from the Arab world and beyond, promoting new talent and creativity.