DUBAI: A Kurdish Iraqi film depicting the ordeal of a Yazidi girl taken hostage by Daesh won best feature at the Dubai International Film Festival on Wednesday as the event closed its curtains on a 13th edition after eight days in celebration of cinema.
In “The Dark Wind,” Kurdish director Hussein Hassan tells the tale of Pero and her fiance Reko, a young Yazidi couple preparing for their wedding when Daesh fighters attack their village.
Young Yazidi girls including Pero are abducted and sold into slavery but Reko — who works as a security guard at an American oil firm — escapes the attack.
Devastated, he sets off in search of his fiancee and his family.
The 92-minute feature — an Iraqi-German-Qatari co-production — made its regional premiere at the glitzy emirate’s annual cinematic event.
It vied against 17 other films in the main competition of the festival, which screened more than 150 titles from 55 countries this year.
Winning the Best Director in the Muhr Emirati category was Yaser Alneyadi for his thrilling film “Shrimp.”
A UAE/ Saudi short film “Mamsous” directed by Shatha Masoud was named Best Muhr Emirati Short.
Saudi director Mohammed Alholayyil was awarded the Special Jury Prize for his compelling film “300KM” while Best Muhr Gulf Short went to the deserving Saudi director Bader Alhomoud for “The Bliss of Being No One.”
Julia Kassar took home Best Actress for her work in “Tramontane” and Ali Sobhi took home Best Actor for “Ali, The Goat and Ibrahim.”
Bringing this year’s festival to a spectacular crescendo, DIFF’s Closing Night Gala screened one of 2016’s most highly anticipated releases, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
The Dubai event has become a major regional showcase for films from the Arab world, especially after a festival in its sister emirate Abu Dhabi ended two years ago.
In “The Dark Wind,” Kurdish director Hussein Hassan tells the tale of Pero and her fiance Reko, a young Yazidi couple preparing for their wedding when Daesh fighters attack their village.
Young Yazidi girls including Pero are abducted and sold into slavery but Reko — who works as a security guard at an American oil firm — escapes the attack.
Devastated, he sets off in search of his fiancee and his family.
The 92-minute feature — an Iraqi-German-Qatari co-production — made its regional premiere at the glitzy emirate’s annual cinematic event.
It vied against 17 other films in the main competition of the festival, which screened more than 150 titles from 55 countries this year.
Winning the Best Director in the Muhr Emirati category was Yaser Alneyadi for his thrilling film “Shrimp.”
A UAE/ Saudi short film “Mamsous” directed by Shatha Masoud was named Best Muhr Emirati Short.
Saudi director Mohammed Alholayyil was awarded the Special Jury Prize for his compelling film “300KM” while Best Muhr Gulf Short went to the deserving Saudi director Bader Alhomoud for “The Bliss of Being No One.”
Julia Kassar took home Best Actress for her work in “Tramontane” and Ali Sobhi took home Best Actor for “Ali, The Goat and Ibrahim.”
Bringing this year’s festival to a spectacular crescendo, DIFF’s Closing Night Gala screened one of 2016’s most highly anticipated releases, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
The Dubai event has become a major regional showcase for films from the Arab world, especially after a festival in its sister emirate Abu Dhabi ended two years ago.
