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In the Premiere league

DIFF 2007 offers cinema fans an opportunity to see brand new films from some of the world’s top filmmakers.

THE DUBAI International Film Festival (DIFF) will host a record number of World Premieres this year — 16 shorts, documentaries and features from all over the world, including the Middle East, India and Africa. Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman of DIFF, commented: “Making a film can take years, and filmmakers choose very carefully where to premiere their work. We take the high number of filmmakers who have entrusted us with their premieres to be an indication that our international reputation is strong as a reputable springboard for the international festival circuit.

For audiences, a world premiere is an exciting chance to see something brand new, usually accompanied by the director and the stars seeing their work with an audience for the first time.”

The Arabian Nights programme Gala will be Whatever Lola Wants by Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch (Ali Zaoua, 2000; Mektoub, 1997), who will appear on the red carpet with stars Carmen Lebbos (West Beyrouth, 1998) and Laura Ramsey (She’s the Man, 2006).

UK-based Jordanian star Nadim Sawalha also stars in Whatever Lola Wants, and will attend the World Premiere of the first Jordanian feature in decades, Captain Abu Raed, with director Amin Matalqa. Khalass, another World Premiere feature from the Arab world, is directed by Borhane Alaouié, who has not worked in fiction narrative since the 1990’s. Khalass is a rich exploration of four characters struggling with post-civil war life in Beirut.

Three of the films in the Celebration of Indian Cinema segment are World Premieres: Naseeruddin Shah will bring Shoot on Sight, a taut thriller in which he plays a Scotland Yard Inspector investigating a police shooting of an alleged terrorist. Co-star Laila Rouass, a television presenter and VJ gaining recognition for her work in feature films, will also attend. Director Remo D’Souza will present his Story of the Red Hills, about a broken-hearted Bengali Chhou dancer who finds a new lease on life through his love of the art form, and DIFF audiences will be the first to see Kabir Bedi and director Akbar Khan present the Director’s Cut of Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story;

The World Premiere of the Cinema of Africa segment is Confessions of a Gambler, by South African novelist and filmmaker Rayda Jacobs, a comedy about a devout Muslim whose moral slide begins with a big win at a casino.

Four documentaries are among the premieres, including 90 Millas, by record producer Emilio Estefan. The film will premiere alongside a performance by Glofia Estefan at the Rhythm n Reels evening screening series. Soy Palestino, Six Ordinary Stories and Recycle are the other documentaries to be screened at the event.

Four World Premieres are found among the short films in the Muhr Competition: Tenbak, an Emirati film directed by Abdullah Hassan, Jerusalem HD and The Birthday Gift. Munir Abbar’s Paris Sur Mer depicts African immigrants eking out a living in Tangiers and hoping for a new life in Europe.