DIFF announces first line-up for Arab films contest

DIFF announces first line-up of contendors for Muhr Arab Feature film category.

A scene from The Proof by Amor Hakkar. Courtesy Dubai International Film Festival

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) yesterday announced the first list of contestants in the Muhr Arab Feature film category.

Cherien Dabis, whose debut feature Amreeka blazed a trail for Arab cinema with numerous international awards, returns to the festival with May in the Summer. The Moroccan New Wave filmmaker Jillali Ferhati presents Pillow Secrets, about a young woman drawn back into her past after her mother’s death. In Palestine Stereo, Rashid Masharawi focuses on the irony of everyday life under occupation in Palestine. The Algerian director Amor Hakkar’s feature The Proof delves into relationships, marriage and gender roles in changing Algerian society.

Laila Marrakchi’s family drama titled Rock the Casbah boasts some of the Arab world’s most acclaimed actors including Hiam Abbass, Nadine Labaki, Lubna Azabal, Morjana Alaoui and Omar Sharif. The Lebanese director Mahmoud Hojeij debuts his first feature Stable Unstable, which uses the device of a therapist’s office to intertwine the stories of several Beirutis who arrive on the same day to try to make sense of their lives. The Syrian auteur Mohamed Malas brings his Ladder to Damascus, shot during the current conflict in his ­homeland.

Void is an omnibus film comprising seven shorts that explore the emotional voids left in the lives of six women who have been affected by the Lebanese Civil War, directed by Tarek Korkomaz, Zeina Makki, Jad Beyrouthy, Christelle Ighniades, Salim Haber, Maria Abdel Karim and Naji Bechara.

The award-winning Moroccan filmmaker Hicham Lasri brings his second feature They Are the Dogs from its world premiere at Cannes. The film tells the story of Majhoul, an old man jailed in 1981 during massive demonstrations for reform in Morocco. Upon his release 30 years later, a documentary team helps him find his family and reconstitute his life in a society in constant evolution.

The Muhr Arab Feature Awards winners will be announced at the closing ceremony at DIFF, which runs from December 6 to 14. ­