Anil Kapoor, John to attend 11th Dubai film fest

Hindi film celebrities Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal will attend the 11th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) along with international stars like Emily Blunt, Kelsey Grammer, Eva Longoria and Olga Kurylenko.

The festival, which runs Dec 10-17, will feature 118 films from 48 countries in 34 different languages, read a statement.

This year's edition of DIFF will open with the screening of James Marsh's "The Theory Of Everything!". The biographic film is inspired by the book "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" written by Stephen Hawking's former wife Jane Wilde Hawking.

At the opening ceremony, DIFF will present its Lifetime Achievement Award to prominent Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif for his work in more than 100 films in a career spanning almost five decades.

Rob Marshall's "Into the Woods" will be the closing film for this year's DIFF and will premiere internationally here. The film, featuring Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine, is a mix of classic stories from "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Rapunzel".

"DIFF has come so far in the past 11 years, introducing new audiences to Arab cinema, fostering talent and welcoming the industry's greatest directors, producers, writers and actors. I'm proud to say that DIFF has contributed to putting the region's film industry on the global map," said Abdulhamid Juma, DIFF chairman.

A panel of renowned directors, including Lee Daniels of Oscar-winning films "Precious" and "The Butler" fame, will comprise the prestigious Muhr Awards jury. The awards aim to recognise talent from the UAE and wider Arab world and have, to date, highlighted over 255 cinematic works.

Daniels will be joined by Dutch cinematographer and film director Leonard Retel Helmrich, acclaimed Algerian director Malik Bensmail, Oscar nominated actress Virginia Madsen and Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki.

Arab celebrities like Mervat Amin, Samir Sabri, Daoud Abdel Sayed, Laila Taher, Mohamed Sobhi, Lebleba and Jamal Suliman will also grace the red carpet.