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Meeting of minds at DIFF

ONE of the most prestigious events in the UAE’s cultural calendar, the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), came to an end last night. Film aficionados were treated to a bouquet of 141 films, belonging to various genres, from 52 countries. And as DIFF officials promised, next year will witness a further expansion of some of the segments of the film festival including the Muhr Awards for Excellence in Cinema.

Right from its inception in 2004, the film festival has been steadily gaining international recognition. The presence of the who’s who in film industries around the world bore testimony to the fact. Living up to people’s expectations, the film festival managed to bring together a host of film personalities around the world who had immensely contributed to bridging the cultural divide. DIFF, in fact, is an ideal platform for many cine-buffs to interact with the best names in the entertainment and cultural industry from various parts of the world.

The film extravaganza this year brought to the fore films on various contentious issues in the Arab world. A few bold films made by young Lebanese directors depicted the pain and disillusionment of the young Lebanese men and women living under the shadow of war. The film festival also featured The Kite Runner, the film adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s critically acclaimed book of the same name. It also offered people an insight into the growing Emirati film industry. As film personalities from Hollywood pointed out, DIFF provided them with a unique opportunity to learn a great deal about Arab cinema. Filmmakers from the West and the East vowed to join hands to make more films together to promote peace and cultural understanding.

All in all, DIFF was a grand success this year and we look forward to a bigger and better DIFF next year.