Some of the world’s most fascinating new movies are lined up for DIFF’s Cinema of the World segment

MORE THAN 20 brand new, all-star and independent films from around the world will screen in Dubai as part of Cinema of the World line-up for the sixth Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

The segment this year features gritty dramas and controversial documentaries from Denmark, France and Peru; entertaining family films and comedies from the United States and Canada, and a rich crop of music-focused offerings from Australia to Zanzibar.

New releases from established directors and actors including Spain’s Pedro Almodovar, Jim Sheridan, Annette Bening, Samuel Jackson, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, comedian Chris Rock and musician Jack White are also confirmed for Dubai debuts.

DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said the unveiling of the programme has been eagerly awaited in regional and international circles following significant changes in the global film industry and the rising popularity of film festivals across the Middle East.

Sheila Whitaker, DIFF Director of International Programming, said the selection is a pick of the best of contemporary world cinema and reflects topical themes as well as those of interest to local populations.

The segment’s most anticipated films include red-carpet gala screener Mother and Child by writer-director Rodrigo García, with A-list stars Naomi Watts, Annette Bening and Samuel L. Jackson; Peruvian entry The Milk of Sorrow, the story of Peru’s civil unrest in the 1980s and winner of the coveted Golden Bear for Best Picture at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival, directed by Claudia Llosa Bueno; and Welcome, a French drama by Philippe Lioret, depicting the controversial story of an Iraqi-Kurdish asylum seeker trying to reach the United Kingdom from France by swimming across the English Channel.

Other acclaimed films include Denmark’s The Little Soldier, directed by Annette K. Olesen; investigative documentary Picture Me: A Model’s Diary and Moloch Tropical, the French-Haitian critique by Raoul Peck on absolute power and political madness. War drama Brothers, directed by six-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan and starring the young talent of Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman, is also expected to draw much interest.

Director Tarik Saleh’s Metropia, a dark futuristic animated Swedish feature voiced by Vincent Gallo and Juliette Lewis, tells the story of a post-oil Europe connected by a vast subway system. Fans of Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz will also see the director-actor team reunited in Broken Embraces.

Gustave Reininger, the creator of the hit NBC TV drama series Crime Story, is showcasing Corso: The Lost Beat, while 1981 is a nostalgic and amusing remembrance of childhood by Canadian writer-director Ricardo Trogi. The feature entry from Norway, Nord (North), is a snow-road movie comedy, directed by Rune Denstad Langlo. The film won its director the Best New Narrative Filmmaker laurel at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

On the fun front, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It! is already drawing rave reviews on the festival circuit. 

The music-themed films include director Gergely Fonyo’s Made in Hungaria; Zanzibar Musical Club and Oil City Confidential

Ulrike Ottinger’s film Korean Wedding Chest provides a fascinating overview of romance and marriage in Korea.

DIFF 2009 will be held from December 9 to 16

From Africa to Asia

A GROUND-BREAKING Indonesian film and three Japanese movies are among the highlights of the Cinema of AsiaAfrica segment of Dubai International Film Festival 2009, which will also showcase superb new films from China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Korea.

The Blue Generation — which has received rave reviews — explores Indonesia’s politics through the eyes of Slank, a seminal rock band, and is directed by Garin Nugroho, Dosy Omar and John De Rantau. It is an inspiring and unique combination of documentary, animation, dance, political activism and rock ’n’ roll.

Nashen Moodley, Director of the AsiaAfrica programmes, said that this year also marks a strong presence of Japanese cinema.

The Japanese selection has something for everyone, encompassing a classic ‘Ninja’ tale, a dark comedy, an animation film and an engaging family drama. Directed by the award-winning Yoichi Sai, the epic Kamui Gaiden, features a rich narrative and spectacular stunts.

In contrast, Running on Empty, directed by Dai Sako, is a riotous dark comedy in which a fake kidnapping is botched and a dark secret gradually revealed.

Director Mamoru Hosoda’s animation Summer Wars is a tale for our times, featuring a large family which is thrown into disarray by a global crisis emanating from the Internet. The superior spy thriller, The Message, represents China in the Cinema of AsiaAfrica section.

From Korea comes director Yoon-ki Lee’s hilarious comedy My Dear Enemy, in which a woman sets out on an expedition to track down her former boyfriend, who owes her money.

Director Raymond Red’s Manila Skies from the Philippines is inspired by a true event, tracking the story of a lone hijacker who struggles to survive on the margins of big city society.

African film, The Absence, is a thriller directed by Mama Keita about scientist Adama Diop, who returns from Paris to Senegal after 15 years and is shocked to find how much his family has changed.