Best of Dubai International Film Festival 2015

Featuring 134 films from 60 countries in 40 languages, including 54 world and international premieres. DIFF is a true festival filsm but don't worry XPRESS has it all covered for you. Here are the ten you can't miss this year: 

Zinzana 

Arguably the year’s most highly anticipated Emirati film, DIFF screenings at the Madinat Arena this edition will kick-start with the red-carpet MENA premier of ‘Zinzana’ (rattle the cage). A neo noir thriller by Majid Al Ansari, it is the story of Talal (Saleh Bakri) who is tortured by the visions of his beloved ex-wife and son while trapped in a prison cell, waiting to hear his fate.

Country: UAE
Language: Arabic with English subtitles
Running time: 92 mins
Genre: Crime and Thriller
Rating: 15+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Thu, Dec 10, 6pm (Dh100); MoE, Sat, Dec 12, 10pm (Dh35)

Dheepan

A Cannes Palme d’Or winner, the critically acclaimed Dheepan by French director Jacques Audiard balances the drama of the immigrant experience with flashes of dark violence. It is the powerful narrative of a Tamil soldier (Antonythasan Jesuthasan) who seeks asylum in France and attempts to start a new life on a tough French housing project.

Country: France
Language: English, French and Tamil with English subtitles
Running time: 114 mins
Genre: Drama
Rating: 15+
Screening: MoE, Thu, Dec 10, 6.15pm (Dh35); Fri, Dec 10, 6pm (Dh35)

Bilal 

Bilal, by Ayman Jamal and Khurram H. Alavi, is set a ‘thousand years ago’ around Bilal, a bright-eyed boy who has the grand dream of becoming a great warrior. Abducted with his sister and taken to a land far away, Bilal is an action-packed adventure and the first feature animation film entirely developed and produced in Dubai. 

Country: UAE
Language: English with Arabic subtitles
Running time: 113 mins
Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation and Drama
Rating: 12+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Thu, Dec 10, 9.30pm (Dh100)

Concussion 

A biographical sports thriller and medical drama film starring Will Smith, Consussion portrays Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who fought against efforts by National Football League in the US to suppress his research on the brain damage suffered by professional football players. Directed and written by Peter Landesman, based on a 2009 exposé, the film also stars Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Albert Brooks.

Country: USA
Language: English with Arabic subtitles
Running time: 123 mins
Genre: Drama and Sport
Rating: 15+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Fri, Dec 11, 6pm (Dh100)

Mountain Cry 

A poignant Chinese film about the unusual relationship between a mute young widow and the man who has accepted responsibility for killing her husband, Larry Yang’s film on the award-winning Ge Shuiping novel is an enthralling story set in a 1984 remote village in north China. When a newcomer to the village dies because of a trap by Han Chong, his village fearing police involvement tells him to take responsibility for the man’s mute wife and their two children. 

Country: China
Language: Mandarin with English and Arabic subtitles
Running time: 107 mins
Genre: Action, Drama and Romance
Rating: 15+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Fri, Dec 11, 9.30pm (Dh100); MoE, Sun, Dec 13, 6.30pm

The Man Who Knew Infinity

The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the real life story of Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) who earns a seat at the prestigious Cambridge University because of his intuitive sense for pure mathematics. With World War I looming and the University’s academic old guard against him – a mixture of racism and disbelief in his abilities – the passionate Ramanujan must work harder to prove his theories, with his unemotional pipe-smoking mentor professor G.H.Hardy (Jeremy Irons) gradually learning to appreciate his startling abilities. 

Country: UK
Language: English with Arabic subtitles
Running time: 114 mins
Genre: Biography and Drama
Rating: PG
Screening: Madinat Arena, Sat, Dec 12, 6pm (Dh100)

The Clan

The winner of the silver lion award at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival earlier this year and Argentina’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, the clan by Pablo Trapero is a dramatic thriller based on the case of the Puccio family, who kidnapped four people in Buenos Aires in the 1980s, murdering three of them. 

Country: Argentina
Language: Spanish with English and Arabic subtitles
Running time: 108 mins
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime and Drama
Rating: 18+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Sat, Dec 12, 9.30pm (Dh100)

Family Fang

A comedy-drama by Jason Bateman based on the 2011 novel of the same name, the film is an oddball spin on the ‘dysfunctional family story’ centred around Bateman and Nicole Kidman as two siblings whose different responses to the apparent death of their parents see them head off on an unusual journey. The fact that their parents Caleb and Camille Fang (Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett) are famed for public art stagings, adds to the twist. 

Country: USA
Language: English
Running time:105 mins
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Rating: 15+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Sun, Dec 13, 10pm (Dh50)

The Daughter

Yet another dramatic family thriller, The Daughter by Australian Simon Stone in his directorial debut, stars Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush in a darkly tense screen version of a stage adaption of Henrik Ibsen’s “The Wild Duck”. It’s the story of a prodigal son (Paul Schneider) returning to his quiet hometown causing dramatic turmoil. 

Country: Australia
Language: English with Arabic subtitles
Running time: 96 mins
Genre: Drama
Rating: 15+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Mon, Dec 14, 7pm (Dh100)

Truth 

Don’t miss the on-screen pairing of Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett that brings a stately sense of gravitas to James Vanderbilt’s astutely complex film. TRUTH is based around American TV station CBS’s 60 Minutes report into President Bush and whether he dodged the Vietnam draft while serving in the Texas Air National Guard, and how the report led to the end of the CBS career of legendary journalist/presenter Dan Rather (Redford). 

Country:Australia and USA
Language: English
Running time: 125 mins
Genre: Biography and Drama
Rating: 15+
Screening: Madinat Arena, Tue, Dec 15, 10pm (Dh50)

Premiering this DIFF

El Clasico by Halkawt Mustafa
Wednesday, December 9, 8pm.

Supported by DIFF’s post-production fund Enjaaz, El Classico tells the story of two young brothers who decide to undertake a perilous journey and leave their homeland behind to capture the attention of one of their idols, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Savva. Heart of The Warrior’ by Maksim Fadeev
Thursday, December 10, 7pm.

A family fantasy adventure from first time director, Maksim Fadeev, in which 10 year old Savva must try and save his family and the whole village from the vicious hyena’s intent on running the humans out of town. 

The Idol
Friday, December 11, 6.30pm

'The Idol’ tells the story of Mohammad Assaf, whose talent and drive turned a talent show into one of the most watched television spectacles in the Arab world. In winning the competition Assaf became a symbol of hope for Palestinians in the region and around the world. The event will also see the ‘Arab Idol’ winner Mohammed Assaf himself performing a selection of his most famous songs. 

All Roads Lead to Rome by Ella Lemhagen
Wednesday, December 16 at 7:00pm 

Starring Sarah-Jessica Parker as the uptight Maggie who embarks on an ill-fated trip to Italy in a desperate attempt to bond with her wantaway daughter Summer. The world premiere from the award-winning filmmaker Ella Lemhagen is a blast from the past featuring a series of events that causes Luca and Maggie to venture on a cross country-trip in search of the runaway Summer and Carmen, Luca’s mother. 

Special screening 

JAWS
Saturday, 12th December, 6.30pm

Oscar-winner and legendary actor Richard Dreyfuss will be at The Beach to introduce the iconic ‘JAWS’ that is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Stephen Spielberg’s breakthrough movie is known as one of the first ‘blockbusters’ and remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history. 

Song of Lahore with a live performance from the film’s musicians.
Monday, 14th December at 7:00 pm.

Directors Andy Schocken and Oscar–winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary ‘Song of Lahore’, is a moving and uplifting look at cultural preservation and a group of passionate and skilled musicians who risk their own safety to inspire listeners from all over the globe.

Fans can get a slice of Red Carpet Gala glamour for just Dh100, with regular arena screening tickets at the Arena priced at Dh50.

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 free screenings will run from December 9, 2015 at THE BEACH, opposite 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).