A film about Sri Lanka refugees in France, which won the coveted Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is one of the 45 films to be screened under the Dubai International Film Festival’s (Diff) Cinema of the World segment.
Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard, delves into the lives of migrants fleeing conflict zones to lead new lives in Europe.
There’s also Youth, directed by Academy Award-winner Paolo Sorrentino, about two old friends and the relationship they build while on vacation in the Swiss Alps, starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel, as Fred and Mick. Contemporary filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien marks his return to cinema after an eight-year absence to present his martial-arts epic The Assassin.
The Man Who Knew Infinity, directed by Matt Brown, follows the journey of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, played by Dev Patel, from his humble roots in Madras to Cambridge University where he is mentored by English mathematician G.H. Hardy, portrayed by Jeremy Irons.
Period drama Brooklyn, directed by John Crowley and based on the acclaimed novel by Colm Toibin, features Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters. It tells the tale of a young immigrant in a strange new land as she discovers young love and the promise of a brighter future.
Multi award-winning feature Embrace of The Serpent, directed by Columbian filmmaker Ciro Guerra, is an adventure epic inspired by the diaries of two explorers. The film tracks two parallel odysseys travelling through the Amazon three decades apart.
Crime thriller Beeba Boys, directed by Deepa Mehta, depicts a clash of culture and crime in an all-or-nothing Vancouver gang war. Following in the footsteps of gang leader Jeet Johar and his loyal crew, ‘the Beeba Boys’, the film looks at how Jeet and his gang take on an old-fashioned Indo crime syndicate in the battle for control of the drug and arms scene.
Turkish actress turned director Deniz Gamze Ergüven is set to premiere her debut feature, Mustang, which won the Europa Cinemas Label Award at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. The film follows five young sisters living in a coastal Turkish village placed under a tyrannical regime that suppresses their natural development.
Award-winning Australian director, Jennifer Peedom, takes audiences on the adventure of a lifetime in her latest film, Sherpa, in which she tackles the daunting Mount Everest in an attempt to explore the ongoing feud between angered Sherpa people and fearless climbers hopeful of conquering the mountain.
Former winner of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or for his film Uncle Boonmee Apichatpong Weerasethakul returns with his new film, Cemetery of Splendour, which follows a young medium and a hospital volunteer as they investigate a sinister case of mass sleeping sickness affecting a temporary hospital for soldiers. The filmmaker uses the epidemic as a metaphor for personal and Thai societal issues.
Trap, the most recent movie from Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza, represents the lives of three families after the devastating Typhoon Yolanda. The director uses powerful imagery and stories based on the real-life experiences of those that have survived the natural disaster to drive home awareness of climate change and the debilitating effects it has on those that succumb to its wrath.
“The ‘Cinema of The World’ programme always presents a great opportunity for us because it is important that the line-up stands for everything we wish to achieve here at Diff. This programme is an opportunity for audiences to gain a better understanding of a variety of cultures from across the globe,” said Nashen Moodley, director of the programme.
Diff will run from December 9 to 16. For more information, go to dubaifilmfest.com