It was the most talked about film of the festival and it suitably took home the biggest prize. At the closing ceremony of the Dubai International Film Festival on Monday, Wadjda, a charming story of a rebellious young girl living in Saudi Arabia, won the Best Film award in the Muhr Arab Feature category.
"Being awarded at a festival in a Gulf country means a lot to me," said an emotional Haifaa Al Mansour, the film's groundbreaking director, who had been a hugely popular face at the festival all week.
Wadjda's lead actress, the 10-year-old Waad Mohammed, deservedly took home the Best Actress award in the same category, while a huge cheer went up for the festival regular Amr Waked, who received Best Actor for his role in Winter of Discontent.
In the Muhr Arab Documentary section, The Turtle's Rage, in which the film's Berlin-born director Pary El-Qalqili attempts to understand her Palestinian father's longing for his homeland, won the Best Film award. Infiltrators, an experimental piece by the Ramallah-based artist and director Khaled Jarrar that highlighted the methods used to cross the Israeli West Bank wall, received a special mention, and also the FIPRESCI Best Documentary award.
Other winners included Inside (Best Film), Television (Special Mention) and Kim Ki-duk (Best Director), all in the Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature section, and Gulabi Gang (Best Film), Char… The No-Man's Island (Special Mention) and Wang Bing (Best Director) from the Muhr AsiaAfrica documentary.
In the Muhr Emirati section, Juma Al Sahli's The Goat's Head received the Best Film award.
