Two book adaptations, both of which have won near-universal praise, will get top billing at the 12th Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) when it begins on December 9.
Lenny Abrahamson’s suspenseful drama Room, based on Emma Donoghue’s 2010 bestseller, will open the annual festival, while Adam McKay’s take on Michael Lewis’ financial crisis book, The Big Short, will be the closing film on December 16.
Room, starring Brie Larson, is about a mother and her five-year-old son, played by Jacob Temblay, who, after five years of captivity, try to adjust to the world outside their one-room prison. The film won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
“The most difficult choice any film festival makes is the opening film,” said Diff chairman Abdulhamid Juma. “Because it has to open the dialogue and open the theme of the festival.”
And this year, with what’s going on in the world, the theme is hope, he added, “hope for a better tomorrow”.
“When we saw Room it perfectly explained what’s going on in the world today, in terms of difficulties. It makes you think about your life. It makes you think about the family. What is captivity? What is survival? Are we all really free?
“This film shows you never to lose hope in any situation, no matter how difficult it is. And we thought it was such a beautiful theme to kick off our festival. Because cinema is our hope.”
The Big Short features an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell as four outsiders in finance who predicted the collapse of the credit and housing markets in the mid-2000’s in the US, and decided to take on the big banks for their lack of foresight and greed. The film, set to release globally later in December, is another example of why the world is the way it is today, said Juma.
“It explains why we are in the darkness now, financially. And it gives you behind-the-scenes of how it all started and teaches us about the consequences of selfishness and greed.”
Here are the things to look out for this year:
Dilwale cast in Dubai
Shah Rukh Khan and his Dilwale co-star Kajol, along with the rest of the team will be at the festival to celebrate the film, which reunites the hit Bollywood pair after five years.
40 years of Jaws
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of #Jaws, actor Richard Dreyfuss will present a special screening for the public at The Beach.
Dev Patel as Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar
Dev Patel will be at Diff to attend the screening of his film, the biopic, The Man Who Knew Infinity, on December 12. The film tells the true story of Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar, a Chennai-born man who attended Cambridge University during WWI, where he becomes a pioneer in mathematical theories.
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah will be one of four Life Achievement Award honorees. Others to be feted are Egyptian actor Ezzat Al Alayli, French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila and French actress Catherine Deneuve.
Muhr Awards
The festival’s Muhr competitions, which recognises talent from the UAE and the Arab world, will be led by top names from the film industry. Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta will lead the jury for the Muhr Feature competition, and will be joined by Australian documentary filmmaker Tom Zubrycki, Belgian actress Lubna Azabal, Emirati filmmaker Nujoom Al Ghanem and Iraqi filmmaker Maysoon Alpachachi.
The Muhr Short and Gulf Short competition will be headed up by Oscar-nominated Icelandic director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson who will be joined by Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa and Emirati director and producer Ali F. Mostafa.
The Muhr Emirati competition will be headed up by Oscar-winning Danish producer Kim Magnusson, who will judge the entries along with Kuwaiti journalist Abdul Sattar Naji and Dr Hessa Lootah, the associate professor at UAE University.
IWC Filmmaker Award
Emily Blunt did it last year. Cate Blanchett, the previous year. This year, the jury for the $100,000 IWC Filmmaker award will be headed by Oscar-nominee Hany Abu-Assad. On his panel are Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen Georges Kern, Diff Chairman Abdulhamid Juma and Diff artistic director Masoud Amralla Al Ali.
Panel discussions and master classes
Besides film screenings, 25 panel discussions and master classes have been scheduled. These include a conversation with Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos, a day devoted to film finance, as well as a special on virtual reality. There will also be networking sessions offering script-to-screen support for emerging filmmakers, tips on talent development, co-production, post-production support and trade platform. Refer to the Diff website for schedules.
Global Gift Gala
Actress Eva Longoria will return to Dubai for the Global Gift Gala at Diff.
Eva Longoria will be back as she is the honorary chair of The Global Gift Gala, the official charity gala of the festival. The gala, along with Dubai Cares, will be supporting The Eva Longoria Foundation, which provides education and entrepreneurship opportunities to women, and the Sunrise K Foundation, which raises awareness of childhood glaucoma.
In Conversation
Jake Gyllenhaal, who will be honoured with Variety’s International Star of the Year Award, will take part in an ‘In Conversation’ segment, where he will interact with fans to talk about life and films. Gyllenhaal’s recent credits include Nightcrawler, Southpaw, Everest and Demolition.
Children’s Gala
The Peanuts Movie.
This year’s children’s special will open with a gala screening of ‘The Peanuts Movie’ on December 11 bringing together beloved characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy on the big screen. There will also be ‘Valley of Knights -- Mira’s Magical Christmas’, on December 12, a fantasy film directed by Thale Persen. Refer to the Diff website for timings and tickets.
Free films on the beach
If you prefer your films in a chilled out atmosphere, Diff organisers are bringing back free screenings on The Beach, opposite JBR. Relax on bean bags and watch livestreams of all the stars from red carpet at the Madinat Jumeirah followed by a film each night. Refer to the Diff website for screening schedules.
Nivin Pauly to be honoured
South Indian star Nivin Pauly and music composer Bappi Lahiri will be honoured at an evening organised by a Bollywood magazine during the festival.
Kalki and Naseeruddin bring ‘Waiting’
Kalki Koechlin and Naseeruddin Shah will also present their film ‘Waiting’ directed by Anu Menon. It the story of a retired professor and a terrified young wife whose partners have fallen into a coma. The two meet and in their time of grief and they must support each other if they are to stop themselves from falling apart.
Michael B Jordan and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are back
Creed star Michael B Jordan will be back as guest and so will Game of Thrones star Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who will attend the screening of his film Concussion.
Assaf on The Beach
Also at The Beach, a film based on Arab Idol Mohammed Assaf’s life, also called ‘The Idol’, will premiere. It’s directed by Oscar-nominated director Hany Abu-Assad. Organisers have also promises a ‘surprise’ at this screening.
Screening locations
Like all previous years, the main galas will be at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena, where the red carpet is located. But there will also be screenings at the Madinat Theatre in Souk Madinat Jumeirah and Vox Cinemas at Mall of the Emirates. Tickets go on sale on November 27 on dubaifilmfest.com and at Vox Cinemas, Mall of the Emirates. Then at the Madinat Theatre and Madinat Arena from December 9.
Don't miss it
For a full list of films and schedules, go to dubaifilmfest.com. The festival’s dedicated customer care number is 363 FILM (3456).
