Irrfan Khan bags Best Actor Award at DIFF
Jury honours critically acclaimed film The Lunchbox among others.
DIFF 2013 was a multicultural affair, which recognised talent from across the globe. PHOTOS: FILE
No surprises here! Actor Irrfan Khan has won the Best Actor Award for The Lunchbox at the 10th annual Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). He won the award in the Muhr Asia-Africa Feature category — yet another accolade for the multi-talented actor. The film’s director received a special mention for the film, reports movies.ndtv.com. The Lunchbox, as the title suggests, is about a lunch box that epitomises hope. The film could not win the Best Picture Prize, which was won by Singapore’s llo llo.
DIFF was a multicultural affair, which established a liaison between the often underrated Arab cinema and the global film industry. Jury president, and six-time Academy Award nominee, Jim Sheridan said that he was pleased with the diversity of Arab films. “I feel privileged to see through a window into a culture that seems open to me, and open to the world,” he said. Renowned Indian film-maker Shekhar Kapur also served on the jury.
The Palestinian film Omar won the Muhr Arab Feature Prize. Not only did the film inaugurate the 10th DIFF, but also played at Cannes this year, where it was well-received. Dubai’s initiative to screen the Palestinian political thriller was a gesture widely appreciated in the Arab world, according to Hindustan Times. In the same category, actor Yasmine Raees won the Best Actress Award for Egyptian movie Factory Girl. Actor Hassan Badid was crowned Best Actor for his performance in Morocco’s They are the Dogs.
Commenting on the communal feel of the event, DIFF chairman Abdulhamid Juma said, “After ten years, we are seeing recurrent visitors, both film professionals and cinema lovers from the region and beyond. This year, we celebrated the gains that have been made in Arab cinema in the past decade, the result of years of work from our team to discover, nurture and promote talent from the Arab world,” reports movies.ndtv.com.
The festival closed on December 14, 2013 with David O Russell’s American Hustle.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2013.
DIFF was a multicultural affair, which established a liaison between the often underrated Arab cinema and the global film industry. Jury president, and six-time Academy Award nominee, Jim Sheridan said that he was pleased with the diversity of Arab films. “I feel privileged to see through a window into a culture that seems open to me, and open to the world,” he said. Renowned Indian film-maker Shekhar Kapur also served on the jury.
The Palestinian film Omar won the Muhr Arab Feature Prize. Not only did the film inaugurate the 10th DIFF, but also played at Cannes this year, where it was well-received. Dubai’s initiative to screen the Palestinian political thriller was a gesture widely appreciated in the Arab world, according to Hindustan Times. In the same category, actor Yasmine Raees won the Best Actress Award for Egyptian movie Factory Girl. Actor Hassan Badid was crowned Best Actor for his performance in Morocco’s They are the Dogs.
Commenting on the communal feel of the event, DIFF chairman Abdulhamid Juma said, “After ten years, we are seeing recurrent visitors, both film professionals and cinema lovers from the region and beyond. This year, we celebrated the gains that have been made in Arab cinema in the past decade, the result of years of work from our team to discover, nurture and promote talent from the Arab world,” reports movies.ndtv.com.
The festival closed on December 14, 2013 with David O Russell’s American Hustle.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2013.