Disney’s comedy-adventure Frozen and BBC Earth’s 3D Walking With Dinosaurs will get their own red-carpet gala at the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) this December as part of its family entertainment showcase, organisers have announced.
Frozen, directed by Chris Buck, is about Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell), a fearless optimist who teams up with extreme mountain man Kristoff and his sidekick reindeer Sven in an epic journey; while Walking with Dinosaurs is a prehistoric adventure where Patchi, an underdog dinosaur, triumphs against all odds to become a hero for the ages.
There’s also an animated Hindi film, an adaptation of Oscar-winning Indian film legend Satyajit Ray’s classic Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne, that has been reinterpreted by book illustrator and animator Shilpa Ranade. The animated Hindi version, about the story of Goopi and Bagha, a pair of musicians gifted with magical powers by the King of Ghosts, will have English subtitles and also English simultaneous translation.
Documentary director Mark Cousins returns with A Story of Children and Film, a world first movie about children in global cinema as seen through 53 great films. Including classic movies such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Great Expectations and The Red Balloon, the film is a celebration of both childhood and the movies that guarantees you’ll make discoveries, no matter what your age.
Rounding up the programme is the chance to watch a selection of short films from filmmakers that focus on Arab-related subjects and of which three are in Arabic language with English subtitles and English simultaneous translation available for all films. The line-up includes Samar, a documentary by Jordanian director Mohammad Rahahleh that looks at the life of a Bedouin girl who lives in the mountains in Jordan. Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s short Peau De Colle (Wooden Hand) follows Amira who, on the day of returning to school, manages to get herself into a sticky situation when she super glues her hand to a wooden chair! Pour Ton Bien (For Your Own Good) from established theatre, film and television actress Ibtissem Guerda follows school boy Brahim whose father uses alternative methods to get him back into the classroom. The last in the compilation comes from Somali film maker Naima Mohamud with Fatima, a film about friendship, love and divorce from a child’s point of view.
DIFF, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, will run from December 6 to 14, 2013. Go to dubaifilmfest.com
