In the first of a two-part preview of Dubai International Film Festival, Sean O’Driscoll talks to artistic director Masoud Amralla Al Ali and picks out some highlights

The 2009 Dubai Film Festival boasts one of the most diverse line-ups ever, its artistic director has promised.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali promised a strong showing of Arab and French films, a children’s section and awards for the best regional cinema.

One of the most eagerly anticipated entries is ‘City of Life’, a feature about a western expat, an India expat and an Emirati, whose lives are thrown together in a car crash.

The film will debut at the festival and has already generated significant attention internationally. It is not, though, Masoud stresses, a remake of the Oscar-winning film ‘Crash’, which carries a broadly similar story line about a car crash in Los Angeles.

“This may have similar ideas, but really, it’s a very different feature. It’s about how lives can suddenly be thrown together in Dubai after following their own paths for so long,” he said.

Now in its sixth year, DIFF 2009 is run with the cooperation of Dubai’s own filmmaking complex, Dubai Studio City, and runs from December 9 to 16.

With the weather just right for evenings outside, the festival is keen to promote ‘Rhythm and Reels’, open-air films about music.

Many music fans are also eager to see the documentary ‘The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights’, which follows rock duo White Stripes as they tour Canada, including a busking session for a native tribe in the far north of the country.

Another major highlight is a newly extended and re-edited version of the classic rock documentary, ‘Woodstock’, which follows the music and culture of the legendary 1969 New York music festival. And Masoud rejects some views that there are too many film festivals in the Middle East.

“For many years, they complained of no film culture in the Middle East, no expression. Then, when this great culture of cinema comes out and someone complains that there is too much! How can you win?” he said.

He would like to see a festival in each of the UAE emirates.

“Wouldn’t it be great if each emirate focused on a theme?

It could be animation, or first time directors, or science fiction. Something that gets notice from the world, so that we don’t do the same thing each time,” he said.

He gets enthused about the large showing of Palestinian films this year, including ‘Checkpoint Rock’, which follows all kinds of music, from classical music to Palestinian rappers.

“It’s very interesting, because it shows a whole other side of Palestine that many people are not aware of,” Masoud said.

Another Palestinian documentary, ‘To Shoot An Elephant’, features never before seen footage of the Israeli invasion of Gaza in January.

Masoud said: “It’s raw material and it’s very harsh.

That’s what great film festivals should include.

This isn’t just popcorn entertainment, we want people to think about the world around them.”

It reminds me of the powerful Northern Ireland film ‘Hunger’ from last year’s festival, which was about the harshest film I and many other festival goers had ever seen.

“Well, it’s good that you liked it,” Masoud says. “We never want to offend local culture or the wider audience, but it’s good to provoke a reaction. This festival isn’t just entertainment, this is about real life.”

* To win tickets valid at any DIFF screening SMS the word ‘DIFF’ (space) ‘your name’ to 5156 to enter a draw. SMS entry will be charged at dhs1.5 per message

Dubai in Reel Time - Film Festival Highlights:
My Father, My Uncle: Creating a lot of buzz, this documentary follows a 28-year-old Iraqi-German, Sinan, who travels to Sharjah to meet his real parents. He quickly learns of the major cultural differences between the Arab world and the German town where he grew up. The festival’s artistic director describes it as “heartbreaking”.

City of Life: A feature-length film shot in Dubai, including Deira and the Sheikh Zayed Road.
When a car crash brings a westerner, an Indian taxi driver and an Emirati together, they struggle to cope with the sudden intrusion of new cultures.
A Bollywood/Hollywood crossover could score big internationally.

White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights: The fashion-setting rock duo in every province of Canada, capturing their grim travels through the wilderness as much as the excitement of life in a rock band.

The Circle: A chance to show off the best of Emirates cinema. Here, two men, one good, one bad, exchange roles and explore each others’ lives. One of the most widely anticipated local films.

Kamui Gaiden: For the Japanese manga comic book fans, an adaptation of the celebrated 1970s story about an outcast from 17th century Japan who becomes a Ninja fighter and fights injustice. His adventures bring him to avenge corrupt rulers. Has got strong reviews at other film festivals.
 
Checkpoint Rock: Rappers DAM and soul singer Amal Murkus are some of the many Palestinian musicians featured. Don’t miss the live jam session after the screening, including the director and some of the featured artists.

To Shoot An Elephant: The Israeli invasion of Gaza, as recorded by people inside. This documentary hopes to show it as it really was, rather than from the perspective of reporters kept outside by the Israeli media blockade.

Un Prophete (A Prophet): A film about a young Arab’s rise as a crime boss. Despite being illiterate and weaker than the tougher criminals, he uses his natural intelligence to plot a master plan.

Apres La Chute (After the Downfall): The story of an exiled Iraqi who invites his friends over to celebrate the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. However, the powerful emotions of the moment bring out hidden tensions among the group.

Woodstock: Considered by many to be the greatest music documentary of all time. The production team has gone back to review all the unused footage from this monster documentary about the 1969 Woodstock festival in New York. The new version is as much a celebration of hippy culture as it is about the music of the time.