Red carpet buzz

The filmmaker Anthony Chen on the relevance of his family drama, about a Filipino nanny, to the UAE; Hollywood actor Stephen Lang can't get enough of the weather; unusual films are what the Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan is after.

Anthony Chen. AFP PHOTO / Mandy CHENG

The Filipino director Anthony Chen, whose family drama Ilo Ilo is showing at DIFF

“It’s my first time in Dubai and I love the blue skies here! Ilo Ilo is my first feature length film. I don’t know about who will win the Oscars. It’s an open field, it’s too early to say now. I will start campaigning next week [for the oscars]. Ilo Ilo is a coming of age story of a 10-year-old boy and his relationship with his Filipino nanny, and it’s also about the Asian financial crisis that really affected Singapore. It’s a personal story for me – I had a nanny growing up for eight – she came when I was 4 and left when I was 12 years old. I know there are a lot of Filipino domestic workers here in the UAE so I hope they can see this film, too, but I don’t know if that’s possible.”

The American actor and playwright Stephen Lang, at DIFF for the International Summit for the Future of Technology and Cinema

“I would like to see lots of Arabic films while I am here. I would love to film in Dubai, particularly if the weather is as lovely as this! At the moment, we are getting ready to work on Avatar 2, 3 and 4 and, with any luck, we will premiere one of them at DIFF in a few years time. At the moment, I am working on The Good Marriage, a Stephen King film.”

The Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan, the head of DIFF’s Muhr Arab Feature jury

“For me as a director, it’s always the story that’s important, and afterwards, about how it looks. At the Dubai International Film Festival this year, I am hoping to see something unusual that I haven’t seen before. I think there will be new stories told. I think you need stars in films. It’s impossible to get a movie without stars. One of the greatest films ever made was made in the Middle East – Lawrence of Arabia.”