‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ closes Diff 2016

The force is strong with fans of the Star Wars film franchise as the 13th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) concluded with the UAE premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story at Madinat Jumeirah on Wednesday night.

Star Wars is the most successful film franchise with a worldwide box office record of more than $6 billion, according to the-numbers.com.

Anushri Chaudhary, a saleswoman at the Diff ticket counter, spoke about the hype for the premiere and said fans were prepared to pay up to Dh500 for a ticket.

Sukbhir Singh, a volunteer in charge of the queue at the premier said some fans waited “nearly two hours” before the red carpet opened. The crowds were similar to those during the world premiere of the Bollywood movie Befikre on the opening night on December 7.

Rogue One is a spin-off, about the rebels who steal the stars for the Death Star. It’s set right before the events of the original 1977 Star Wars.

Directed by Gareth Edwards it stars Felicity Jones, Donnie Yen, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed and Mads Mikkelsen among others. The film releases in UAE theatres on December 15.

— The Young Journalist Award (YJA) at Diff is a training programme for high school and university students who are aspiring writers and reporters. Eight students are competing at the festival this year. One winner will secure a monthlong internship with Gulf News.