The 7-day Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) ended here Sunday with a sparkling gala evening reception where a total of 36 awards were given honoring movies from East and West, with 2 films cashing in double-prizes.
The documentary film "Infiltrators" featuring the suppressed life of ordinary Palestinians under Israel [2]i occupation in the West Bank, from Palestinian and Emirati producers Mohanad Yaqubi and Sami Said won the Special Jury Prize and of the Muhr Arab Documentary category. Its director Khaled Jarrar was given the award as Best Director in the category FRIPRESCI Documentary, the award from the International Federation of Film Critics.
Another two awards were given to Kyrgyz production "Silence." Producer Taalay Kulmendeiev went on stage to receive the prize for Best Director and the short film's Special Jury Prize in the category Muhr Asia Africa Short. The movie deals with a bankrupt family which develops a new look on the world when the creditor bank takes the TV set as security.
Masoud Amralla Al Ali, the artistic director of Dubai's film fest DIFF, told Xinhua he was happy to watch so many international, thoughtful movies, but added that to him the Arab movies were his biggest happiness. "It is amazing how Arab movies have developed since the launch of the festival 9 years ago," said Al Ali.
The only Chinese movie which won award was "San Zimei -- Three Sisters," a joined production from Hong Kong and France [3] directed by Wang Bing, who was honored as Best Director in the Muhr Asia Africa Documentary category. The 153-minutes long Mandarin film ( with English subtitles) delivers a rare inside look into a low- income Chinese farming family living in Yunnan province, where the three sisters Yin, Zhen and Fen, still in primary school age, cope with the rough mountain life with childish courage.
The prize for "Best Director" in the Arab documentary segment was give to Tunisian film director Hinde Boujemaa. Her film "It Was Better Tomorrow," documents the life of middle-aged Aida, a single mother of four, who sees her hopes for a better, post- revolutionary future being shattered by a steady decline of her country's economy. The film was produced in 2011 after then- president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted.
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