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Lebanese film wins top prize in Dubai

21 December 2010

DUBAI: “Stray Bullet,” the debut feature film of Lebanese director Georges Hashem won first prize in the Muhr Arab feature film competition at the Dubai International Film Festival ( DIFF ) Sunday evening.

The film, set shortly after the start of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War, tells the story of a young woman who is torn between a fiance picked by her family and a former lover who suddenly reappears in her life.

The film stars Nadine Labaki, director of the highly acclaimed 2007 production, “Caramel.”

Hachem received the Gold Muhr award from French actress Isabelle Huppert, who was in Dubai to present her own film, “Copacabana.”

Twelve films competed in the best Arab film category, including entries from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Morocco.

Egyptian entry “678” won best actor for Maged al-Kidwany and best actress for Bushra. In the film, director Mohamed Diab addresses the issue of sexual harassment in Egypt.

The best writer prize in the Muhr division went to Jillali Ferhati for her screenplay for the Moroccan film “Des l’Aube” (“At Dawn”).

Another Moroccan film, “Pegase” (“Pegasus”), earned Xavier Castro the award for best cinematography.

First prize in the Muhr Arab documentary competition went to Mahmoud al-Massad’s “Hatihi swrati wa ana mayet” (“This was my picture when I was dead”). Massad’s film takes up the story of a child called Bashir, killed at age four during the assassination of his father, a PLO lieutenant. Massad imagines where Bashir would be now, 29 years after his death.

Lebanese director Sabine El Chama’s “Un Mardi” (“A Tuesday”) took first prize in the Muhr Arab short film competition.

For the first time this year DIFF presented the Muhr Emirati Awards to UAE filmmakers. Fourteen films made by UAE nationals competed in Muhr Emirati competition.

First prize in the Emirati division went to Nayla al-Khaja for “Malal” (“Bored”), an uncompromising portrait of relationships in an arranged marriage.

The Muhr AsiaAfrica competition drew 445 entries from 62 countries, including 110 documentaries, 136 features and 199 short films.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun took first prize in the AsiaAfrica category for his feature film “Un Homme Qui Crie” (“A Screaming Man”). Haroun’s film, a tale of fatherhood during the current civil war in Chad, also won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

Mohsen Abdolvahab took home the prize for AsiaAfrica screenwriting for “Loftan Mozahem Nashavid” (“Please Do Not Disturb”).

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and Yukonteorn Mingmongkon’s cinematography for “Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chaat” (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”) won them top honors in the AsiaAfrica division.

Best AsiaAfrica documentary went to China’s Jia Zhang-Ke for “Hai Shang Chuan Qi” (“I Wish I Knew”), a film about the history of Shanghai.

Top AsiaAfrica honors for a short film went to Kyrgyztan’s Nargiza Mamatkulova for “Soiko” (“The Earrings”).

The annual Prize of the International Critics for Arab films from the International Federation of Film Critics, went to “2 ½” directed by Lebanon’s Elie Kamal and “Zelal” by Marianne Khoury and Mustapha Hasnaoui (a production from Egypt, France, Morocco and the UAE) in the short and documentary film categories, respectively.

Jordanian director Mohammed al-Hushki’s film “Transit Cities,” won the Special Jury Prize. The film tells the story of a woman who returns to Jordan after a divorce in the US and tries to pick up her former life, but finds it impossible to reintegrate into a changed society.

The festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award went to Malian director Souleymane Cisse.

A total of 157 films from 57 countries were screened at the Dubai festival this year, in its seventh edition. – AFP with The Daily Star

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