During earlier years of the Dubai International Film Festival, which launched its first edition in 2004, attracting film stars who were active in the industry was difficult.
“They don’t have work. They just come here for a vacation. They just walk a red carpet. Some of them are really not cinema stars, they’re TV stars. Khaleejis, or Emiratis, because they’re wearing kandoura, they get the benefit of coming. We heard that, and we said fine,” Diff chairman Abdul Hamid Juma told Gulf News tabloid!.
That’s why the 14th edition of the festival, taking place from December 6 to 13, is a point of pride for organisers. It represents a tangible growth and continues to cement Diff as a worthy addition to the international festival circuit.
“We work according to a very, very organised plan and vision. Sometimes we do the right thing, sometimes we do a lousy job — but that’s really what life is,” said Juma.
Nearly every one of the 70 Arab celebrities attending is participating in the festival with a movie, a forum discussion, or by accepting an award. Some Gulf nationals, who have been regular guests of the festival for years, are for the first time putting forward their own work.
“None of them are coming as guests and doing nothing. They’ve been walking on the red carpet for 5, 10 years. But it’s a different feeling when you walk the red carpet when you have a film in the festival,” said Juma.
GLOBAL APPEAL
Diff has also fostered a growing relationship with prestigious institutions such as the Golden Globes, the Baftas and the Academy Awards. John Bailey, the newly appointed president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas), will even give a talk on Friday. To Juma, it’s a sign that “people are respecting this festival and they think this is a festival not to miss.”
There’s also an increasing willingness to attend Diff by international guests. This year’s line-up includes Lifetime Achievement recipients Irrfan Khan, Wahid Hamed and Patrick Stewart.
77-year-old Stewart, a UK native, was meant to attend last year’s festival, according to Juma. But it turned out to be a happy coincidence that he couldn’t make it until now.
“Sir Patrick, we’ve been after him for some time. This year, Diff has a UK focus — we have maybe 10 British films coming. So honouring a Sir, honouring Mr Stewart, it just works perfectly for us,” said Juma. In addition to receiving an award, Stewart will participate in a ticketed In Conversation event on Friday afternoon, open to the public.
THINK LOCAL
The festival will be showing 141 films at its 14th edition. For Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Diff’s artistic director, Arabic films continue to be the highlight.
“This is the one chance for the audience to watch Arabic films like this. Where will he watch a Palestinian, Moroccan or Tunisian film otherwise?” said Al Ali.
He also had a message for those who believe that festival films are unwatchable, perhaps due to their less commercial and more artistic nature.
“The worst thing you can do is walk out before a film is finished. You’re the judge, but you haven’t given the film a chance to say what it has to say,” he said.
“When I’m choosing films for the festival, there is no way I could ever fast forward. There is no way that I could skip a scene. Sometimes I know for sure, 100 per cent, that this film isn’t going to be at Diff — but I always give it the full chance and watch it [in its entirety].”
Juma also had advice for any first-time visitors of the festival: “Watch an Emirati film, a Khaleeji film, an Arab film. You’ll leave the cinema and say, ‘You know what? They’re as human as we are.’ Indulge in the culture. Talk to people. Make friends. And then keep coming back to us.”
