The Dubai International Film Festival will officially unveil its full 2014 line-up during a special event on The Palm on Wednesday, November 26.
Catch up on all the details of the announcement on The National's website right after it happens, at about 11.30am, and in the newspaper the following day.
The 11th edition of the festival, which runs from December 10 to 17, takes place amid recent rumours about cutbacks and funding problems – despite being named this year as one of the world's top 10 film festivals by Condé Nast Traveller magazine.
However, with about 70 films from around the world already announced for this year’s event – expected to rise to about 120 once the final programme is revealed – things don’t look too gloomy, even if the count is considerably lower than the 174 films that screened during the 10th anniversary event last year.
The films already announced include world premieres of regional films such as the DIFF-supported, IWC Award-winning Dolphins by Waleed Al Shehhi, and the Saudi director Mohammad Alfaraj's Compulsory. There are several films supported by DIFF's Enjaaz fund, and also a selection of critically acclaimed international movies. These include the Oscar-winner Danis Tanovic's latest film Tigers, the Nadine Labaki-starring The Price of Fame (directed by Xavier Beauvois, who won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2010) and Xavier Dolan's Oscar-nominated, Cannes Jury Prize-winning Mommy. Confirmed celebrity guests include the actress Emily Blunt and The Butler director Lee Daniels.
Watch this space for more DIFF facts, films and famous faces that are sure to be added during Wednesday’s announcement.
