Dubai International Film Festival has added 11 titles to its Arabian Nights line-up this year as part of the 14th edition, taking place from December 6-13.
Films include Catch the Wind by French director Gael Morel, about a 45-year-old textile factory worker who’s impacted by downsizing, and Orchestra Class, a film by Rachid Hami, about the power of music through the eyes of a disillusioned violinist.
On the political spectrum, Naila and the Uprising, by Julia Bacha, is the true story of a secret network of Palestinian women who fought back during the 1980s Intifada. Never Leave Me, by Aida Begic, tells the tale of an unlikely friendship of three teenaged boys inside of a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey. Egil Haskjold Larsen’s 69 Minutes of 86 Days is about a three-year-old who seeks refuge from war; it’s filmed only one metre above the ground.
Also joining the line-up are Algerian filmmaker Karim Moussaoui and his film Until the Birds Return, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania and the film Beauty and the Dogs, documentary filmmakers Stefanie Brockhaus and Andreas Wolff with their The Poetess (it follows Saudi writer Hissa Hilal who takes part in an Abu Dhabi-based multimillion dollar TV competition), French-Lebanese director Nadim Tabet with his Enjaaz-supported movie One of These Days, and Khalid Diab with Artificial Labour.
Closing the line-up is the world premiere of Kiss Me Not, by the Egyptian-American writer Ahmad Amer, who last year made waves with his film Ali, The Goat and Ibrahim. His latest effort is a mockumentary about an actress abandoning a film set during a kissing scene.
Meanwhile, Diff has also announced the festival will be presented in association with Dubai Studio City (DSC).
Tickets and packages for Diff are now available online.
