A documentary film set around the making of Tomorrow-Bokra, the charity song led by musical legend Quincy Jones featuring 24 Middle Eastern artists, will premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) on December 17.
Bokra The Film directed by Emirati filmmaker Ahmad Abdul Qader, will take viewers from Morocco to Jordan behind the scenes of the song’s creative process.
The song, conceptualised by Jones, is an adaptation of his Grammy-winning tune Tomorrow (A Better You, A Better Me).
It was released in November 2011, featuring singers including Tamer Hosny, Majida Al Roumi, Kadim Al Saher, Marwan Khoury, Sherine Abdul Wahab, Saber Rebai, Latifa and Fayez Al Saeed.
Singer Akon also lent his vocals to the track while Shakira, who is of Lebanese descent, recorded a special introduction to the music video.
All proceeds from the song were donated to charities and initiatives that were targeted towards the region’s youth, with a special focus on developing culture and arts.
Beneficiaries included the World Food Programme, Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation and Save the Children’s innovative Heart programme, which stands for Healing and Education through the Arts.
“I am enormously proud that the people of the Middle East and North Africa so warmly embraced the themes expressed in Tomorrow — Bokra and I can think of no better place to premiere the film of the making of this historic recording than the Dubai International Film Festival.
"As with the recording of theBokra song and music video, I know that Bokra The Film will continue to prove my belief in the power of music and the arts to bring people together for the betterment of mankind,” said Quincy Jones.
Diff runs from December 10 to 17.
