Curtains are up for the eighth edition of the Abu Dhabi International Film Festival (ADFF).
The 10-day festival that runs till November 1 will bring the best of international and Arab cinema to movie screens at VOX cinemas in Marina Mall and Emirates Palace.
In the line-up of 197 films from 61 countries, there are nine world premieres of feature films and 48 short films.
The festival will open for the first time with the locally-produced film From A to B by Emirati filmmaker Al Mostafa.
Known for his award-winning 2009 film City of Life, Mostafa's second full length feature film From A to B follows three Western-educated Arab youths who travel 1,500 miles from Abu Dhabi to Beirut in memory of their dead friend.
Matter of pride
"It is a privilege to celebrate the world premiere in our capital and a matter of pride that an Emirati film will open the festival. This is another testament to our growing industry as the festival has proven to be a great platform for showing Arab films to an international audience,” said Mostafa.
Disney's action-packed animation film Big Hero 6 will be screened on the closing night.
Several Arab films will be presented alongside international titles in Narrative, New Horizons, Documentary and Short Film competition categories.
The jury members who will select the winning films in the Narrative category include Indian actor Irrfan Khan, Algerian novelist Waciny Laredj, award-winning English writer and director Steven Shainberg, Australian film director Cate Shortland and award-winning Palestinian actor Ali Suliman.
For the second consecutive year, there will be a Child Protection Award for films that highlight the scourge of child abuse. The award is constituted in conjunction with the Child Protection Centre, U.A.E. Ministry of Interior.
The festival will also show some restored classics like Rebel Without a Cause, A Fistful of Dollars and Mary Poppin.
Through a collaboration with Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation/ World Cinema Project (WCP), ADFF will also screen two newly restored international masterworks – Sergei Parajanov's The Colour of the Pomegranates and Lino Brocka's Manila in The Claws of Light.
Panel discussions on topics ranging from film preservation and crowdfunding campaigns to Arab diaspora filmmaking and international co-productions will be held as part of the ADFF Talks Film programme, which kicks off on October 24 with In conversation with Rachid Bouchareb.
The French-Algerian director and American producer Edward Pressman will be honoured with this year's Career Achievement Award for their outstanding contributions to world cinema.
Panel discussion Let's Work Together on the following day will include directors and producers from Europe, Canada and the Arab world analysing whether Arab filmmakers should opt for international co-productions and collaborations to gain global success. For information on films and screening timings, visit www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae.
Source: Gulf News