Some of Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world’s brightest will descend on this year’s Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) when it opens on December 10.
Leading the Hollywood A-list pack will be Emily Blunt, who is head of jury this year at the IWC Filmmaker Award, which will be presented on December 11. Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, who stars in Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, The Water Diviner, will attend the film’s screening, also on December 11. Kelsey Grammer, best known for the TV series Frasier, will be on hand for the world premiere of his film Breaking the Bank, to be screened on December 16. And English actor Paul Bettany, who is also making his directorial debut with the film Shelter, will attend, along with British actor Matthew Beard, who stars in The Imitation Game, along with Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley.
Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria will return to the city with her fundraising event, The Global Gift Gala, which will be held during the film festival this year on December 14. Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels, of The Butler fame, is head of jury for the Muhr Feature Competition. He will be joined by actress and producer Virginia Madsen.
From Bollywood, the cast of Welcome Back, which was filmed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, will host a special ‘In Coversation With…’ segment. That includes actors Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal. The film does not release until next year, however, the public will be able to attend the ticketed event. Tickets, slated to be around Dh30, will be available from the Diff website starting Friday.
From the Arab world, iconic Egyptian actor Nour Al Sherif will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award on the opening night. Acclaimed Egyptian director Mohammad Khan, a Diff regular, will also head the jury for the Muhr Shorts and Emirati Competition while Lebanese actress and director Nadine Labaki will join Daniels as jury member. Singer and actor Tamer Hosny will walk the red carpet along with Egyptian actress Mervat Amin and a host of Arab celebrities.
