DIFF 2009: All Has Been Revealed
Dubai International Film Festival 2009
Details (all meat, no potatoes)
WearetheMovies.com has been diligently covering the festival since last year (our writers are pretty comprehensive and brutal; see links on the right), and this year we will once again jump into the fray, all guns blazing. Dubai is a city we love and we love it even more during the film festival. (Wait, I think I hear Bloomberg and Financial Times nerds crying foul, screaming “standstill” and “meltdown” — screw ‘em, what do philistines know about art.) The DIFF website has just unveiled the entire roster of films, schedule and price details. The information is a bit dense there, so here is a snapshot summary:
Films
The festival films have been split up into 16 programmes. You can navigate the selections by these categories, or become a film militant and scroll through each page, film by film (if you do this, you will earn our greatest respect). I hand counted 168 films films in there, which is kinda insane and awesome. Ready? Now click these:
A Celebration of Indian Cinema (3 films)
Arab-French Rendez-Vous (5 films)
Arabian Nights (14 films)
Cinema for Children (7 films)
Cinema of Asia-Africa (11 films)
Cinema of the World (26 films)
Gulf Voices (10 films)
In Focus: France (6 films)
Lebanese Night (4 films)
Lifetime Achievement (4 films)
Muhr Arabic Documentary (14 films)
Muhr Arabic Feature (10 films)
Muhr Arabic Short (15 films)
Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary (12 films)
Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature (15 films)
Muhr AsiaAfrica Short (12 films)
Ticket Prices
Regular tickets are AED 25 ($6.80), but if you’re a Student then it is only AED 10 ($2.70) which is nice of them. Tickets for the Red Carpet Gala Screenings, if you’re into that sort of thing, are AED 80 — only requirement is that they ask you wear “formal or national dress — no jeans.” Else they might kick you out, or worst… actually let you in where snobs in black ties and gowns will really make you feel at home. If you buy tickets in bulk (which we always recommend), then there are special discounted packages. Do the math yourself: let your brain and wallet pick the right deal here.
Box Office
They have counters at the Madinat Jumeriah, Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Media City. Check out this page for the operation hours and contact numbers. Hopefully, the young turks working the phones have a clue.
And you’re done.
(P.S. Need recommendations on what to see or avoid? We have something in the works. Meanwhile, read the early rants and raves from our feisty members on the WM Forum.)
This article was tagged as: Arab Cinema, Arab Independent Filmmakers, Arthouse, Blog, Dubai Independent Filmmaking, Dubai International Film Festival, Indian Subcontinent Cinema
Excellent! Time to work on my schedule for the week. But really now, as late as 9-days before the start – that’s criminal.
But isn’t the stress of making schedules part of the fun? Criminal or not, it must be done, and done it must be with haste and the precision of heart surgery!