Dubai international film fest jury members selected

International jury members and film critics will participate in the inaugural Dubai International Film Festival to be held from December 6.

The jury members and advisory board was announced yesterday by Dubai Media City.

The event is being held under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, and the Festival Chairman Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of the Emirates Group.

The jury members include Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Noah Cowan, Uma da Cunha, Hannah Fisher, Lucia Rikaki, Sheila Whitaker, Claudia Landsberger, Mohammad Maklouf, Tony Sloman and Antonia Carver.

The members of the advisory board are Alberto Barbera, director, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, Torino, Italy; Piers Handling, CEO and director, Toronto International Film Festival Group; Roger Ebert, film critic, Chicago Sun-Times and Subhash Ghai, chairman, National Entertainment Committee of the Confederation of Indian Industries. "I am especially happy to have such a powerful team of jury members for Dubai's first festival," Shaikh Ahmad said. "We realise that the jury members are a critical component in the success of any aspiring international film festival and we have searched around the world to bring the best to Dubai."

The festival director and CEO, Neil Stephenson, said: "I am very proud to be associated with these respected international jury members and am confident that they will assist our festival in quickly gaining international recognition and growing into an important event on the international festival calendar."

Eighty films will be featured at the festival, including 55 main features, ten sidebar screenings and 15 Arab short films.

Entries divided into ten categories

Arabian Nights A selection of films by Arab filmmakers showcasing contemporary Arab cinema. Juror: Masoud Amralla Al Ali.

Operation Cultural Bridge This section will feature a selection of films that serve to tear down walls of racial prejudice and intolerance and build cross-cultural bridges. Juror: Noah Cowan; Assistant Juror: Neil Stephenson

Bollywood meets Hollywood This category will include a selection of Bollywood classics and new crossover films produced or inspired by Bollywood for an international audience. Juror: Uma da Cunha

Cinema from the Subcontinent This category showcases new works of excellence from emerging young filmmakers from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Juror: Hannah Fisher

Destination Documentary The 2004 edition of this section will celebrate films that that remind viewers of the importance of nature and of environmental conservation and habitat protection. Juror: Lucia Rikaki

Hi-tech Hollywood A selection of releases from the studios of the film capital of the world. Juror: Noah Cowan

Contemporary World Cinema - From Moscow to Teheran to Manila This segment is wide in its scope and welcomes interesting new works from independent filmmakers around the globe. the festival is particularly interested in attracting works of cinematic excellence by filmmakers from Eastern Europe, Iran and the Philippines. Juror: Sheila Whitaker; Assistant Juror: Antonia Carver

Arabian Shorts A selection of short films from across the Arab world, including works of excellence by promising UAE filmmakers. Juror: Mohammad Maklouf, Tony Sloman; Assistant Juror: Masoud Amralla Al Ali

Screen on the Green - A celebration of Omar Sharif A sidebar collection of four classic films from this Arab actor to be screened under the stars in the open-air amphitheatre of Dubai Media City. Juror curator: Tony Sloman

Directors in the Spotlight This will be a special retrospective sidebar highlighting the work of a distinguished movie director from the Arab world as well as eminent directors from Bollywood and Hollywood. Juror coordinator: Claudia Landsberger; Juror advisers: Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Hannah Fisher and Uma da Cunha