The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) provides international status for regional films, especially those from the Arab world, Asia and Africa, said Amitabh Bachchan, the DIFF Honouree of the Lifetime Achievement Award this year.
“DIFF is of very recent origin compared to the history of cinema but it in a short span, the festival has entered an arena that has been dominated by the Western film industry,” he added.
Describing that he feels ‘honoured and humbled’ with the DIFF 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award, the legendary Indian actor said the Middle East is emerging as one of the largest territories for Indian cinema overseas.
“The local population has contributed to the success of the Indian films here. Although there are linguistic differences, people in the Arab world share cultural similarities and can associate well with Indian films. This bodes well for the Indian film industry.”
Bachchan, known as ‘Big B,’ headlined the Indian celebrities walking the red carpet on the opening day of DIFF. He said that the appeal of Indian films to global audiences is because “our cinema offers poetic justice in three hours. You walk away from an Indian cinema with a smile on your lips and dried tears on your cheeks.”
Celebrating the honour for Bachchan, DIFF is screening two of his path-breaking films – Black (Dec. 11, 12pm at Cinestar 1, Mall of the Emirates) and Silsila (Dec. 15, 5pm at Cinestar 1).
DIFF 2009 is held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah are the principal sponsors of DIFF and the event is supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture).
Full listings of films can be accessed via the DIFF website (www.dubaifilmfest.com) and downloaded on to your mobile phone.
