The Dubai International Film Festival closed its fifth edition tonight with Lyes Salem's comedy Masquerades taking the top prize for best film in the Muhr Awards for Excellence In Arab Cinema. The French-Algerian production also won the festival's first FIPRESCI prize.
Director Salem also stars in the tale of an Algerian man who wants to marry off his narcoleptic sister.
Another big winner in the Arabic competition was Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France), directed by Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche, which won the special jury prize and honours for editor and composer. That story follows immigrant workers in a Paris suburb who are not impressed when their boss tries to establish an on-site mosque.
Morrocan feature Casanegra won for best actor and best cinematographer.
In the new AsiaAfrica Muhr competition, So Yong Kim's Treeless Mountain was named best film and Kazuhiro Soda's Mental was named best documentary. Treeless Mountain premiered in Toronto and shared the FIPRESCI prize at Pusan.
In all, the Muhr Awards handed out prizes worth $500,000. Jurors included directors Khairy Beshara, Naomi Kawase, Jehane Noujaim, Hany Abu-Assad, Sergei Bodrov, Sundance Film Festival director Geoffrey Gilmore, and South African producer Jeremy Nathan.
The Dubai Film Connection co-production market, which showcased 21 projects, handed out six awards worth more than $100,000.
The three projects winning the The Dubai International Film Festival Prize (each with $25,000 and selection for the Cannes Producers Network 2009) are: This is my Picture When I Was Dead by Mahmoud al Massad (Jordan-Netherlands); Barbershop Trinity by Chadi Zeneddine (Lebanon); and Ouardia Once Had Sons by Djamila Sahraoui (Algeria-Morocco).
The Desert Door Work In Progress Award went to Every Day Is A Holiday by Dima El-Hor (Lebanon-France); the Arte International Relations Award went to Death For Sale by Faouzi Bensaiei (Morocco-France-Belgium); and the Bahrain Film Production Company Award went to When I Saw You by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine-Jordan).
The jury for DFC awards was comprised of Tony Cianciotta, Marie Therese Guirgis, and Philippe Reilhac.
The festival also noted that as of Dec 17, it had seen 47,500 attendees, 'a significant increase' over last year.
Dubai International Film Festival 2008 Winners
Muhr Arabic Competition
Best Film
Masquerades (Algeria-France) Lyes Salem
Special Jury Prize
Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France) Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
FIPRESCI Award
Masquerades (Algeria-France) Lyes Salem
Best Cinematographer
Luca Coassin for Casanegra (Morocco)
Best Composer
Sylvain Rifflet for Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France)
Best Editor
Nicolas Banchilhon for Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France)
Best Screenplay
Annemarie Jacir for Salt Of This Sea (Palestine)
Best Actress
Hifsia Herzi for Francaise (France-Morocco)
Best Actor (shared)
Anas Elbaz and Omar Lofti for Casanegra (Morocco)
Documentaries, First Prize
Memory Of The Cactus: A Story Of Three Palestinian Villages (Palestine) Hanna Musleh
Documentaries, Special Jury Prize
The One Man Village (Samaan Bidiyaa) (Lebanon) Simon El Habre
Best Short
The North Road (La Route Du Nord) (Lebanon-France) Carlos Chahine
Muhr AsiaAfrica Competition
Best Film
Treeless Mountain (US-South Korea) So Yong Kim
Special Jury Prize
Vacation (Kyuka) (Japan) Hajime Kadoi
Best Cinematographer
Reza Teymouri for Be Calm And Count To Seven (Iran)
Best Composer
Jorja Mesafin and Vigay Iyer for Teza (Ethiopia-Germany-France)
Best Editor
Sreekar Prasad for Firaaq (India)
Best Screenplay
Deepa Mehta for Heaven On Earth (Canada)
Best Actress
Anh Hong for Moon At The Bottom Of The Well (Vietnam)
Best Actor
Askhat Kuchinchirekov for Tulpan (Germany-Kazakhstan-Poland-Russia-Switzerland)
Documentaries, First Prize
Mental (Japan-US) Kazuhiro Soda
Documentaries, Special Jury Prize
Survival Song (Xiao Li Zi) (China) Guangyi Yu
Best Short
Young Blood (Shao Nian Xue) (China) Haolun Shu
Emirati Awards
Best UAE Talent
Haydar Mohammed
Most promising UAE female film-maker
Nujoom Al Ghanem
Most promising UAE male film-maker
Saeed Salmeen Al-Murry
Director Salem also stars in the tale of an Algerian man who wants to marry off his narcoleptic sister.
Another big winner in the Arabic competition was Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France), directed by Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche, which won the special jury prize and honours for editor and composer. That story follows immigrant workers in a Paris suburb who are not impressed when their boss tries to establish an on-site mosque.
Morrocan feature Casanegra won for best actor and best cinematographer.
In the new AsiaAfrica Muhr competition, So Yong Kim's Treeless Mountain was named best film and Kazuhiro Soda's Mental was named best documentary. Treeless Mountain premiered in Toronto and shared the FIPRESCI prize at Pusan.
In all, the Muhr Awards handed out prizes worth $500,000. Jurors included directors Khairy Beshara, Naomi Kawase, Jehane Noujaim, Hany Abu-Assad, Sergei Bodrov, Sundance Film Festival director Geoffrey Gilmore, and South African producer Jeremy Nathan.
The Dubai Film Connection co-production market, which showcased 21 projects, handed out six awards worth more than $100,000.
The three projects winning the The Dubai International Film Festival Prize (each with $25,000 and selection for the Cannes Producers Network 2009) are: This is my Picture When I Was Dead by Mahmoud al Massad (Jordan-Netherlands); Barbershop Trinity by Chadi Zeneddine (Lebanon); and Ouardia Once Had Sons by Djamila Sahraoui (Algeria-Morocco).
The Desert Door Work In Progress Award went to Every Day Is A Holiday by Dima El-Hor (Lebanon-France); the Arte International Relations Award went to Death For Sale by Faouzi Bensaiei (Morocco-France-Belgium); and the Bahrain Film Production Company Award went to When I Saw You by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine-Jordan).
The jury for DFC awards was comprised of Tony Cianciotta, Marie Therese Guirgis, and Philippe Reilhac.
The festival also noted that as of Dec 17, it had seen 47,500 attendees, 'a significant increase' over last year.
Dubai International Film Festival 2008 Winners
Muhr Arabic Competition
Best Film
Masquerades (Algeria-France) Lyes Salem
Special Jury Prize
Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France) Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
FIPRESCI Award
Masquerades (Algeria-France) Lyes Salem
Best Cinematographer
Luca Coassin for Casanegra (Morocco)
Best Composer
Sylvain Rifflet for Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France)
Best Editor
Nicolas Banchilhon for Adhen-Dernier Maquis (Algeria-France)
Best Screenplay
Annemarie Jacir for Salt Of This Sea (Palestine)
Best Actress
Hifsia Herzi for Francaise (France-Morocco)
Best Actor (shared)
Anas Elbaz and Omar Lofti for Casanegra (Morocco)
Documentaries, First Prize
Memory Of The Cactus: A Story Of Three Palestinian Villages (Palestine) Hanna Musleh
Documentaries, Special Jury Prize
The One Man Village (Samaan Bidiyaa) (Lebanon) Simon El Habre
Best Short
The North Road (La Route Du Nord) (Lebanon-France) Carlos Chahine
Muhr AsiaAfrica Competition
Best Film
Treeless Mountain (US-South Korea) So Yong Kim
Special Jury Prize
Vacation (Kyuka) (Japan) Hajime Kadoi
Best Cinematographer
Reza Teymouri for Be Calm And Count To Seven (Iran)
Best Composer
Jorja Mesafin and Vigay Iyer for Teza (Ethiopia-Germany-France)
Best Editor
Sreekar Prasad for Firaaq (India)
Best Screenplay
Deepa Mehta for Heaven On Earth (Canada)
Best Actress
Anh Hong for Moon At The Bottom Of The Well (Vietnam)
Best Actor
Askhat Kuchinchirekov for Tulpan (Germany-Kazakhstan-Poland-Russia-Switzerland)
Documentaries, First Prize
Mental (Japan-US) Kazuhiro Soda
Documentaries, Special Jury Prize
Survival Song (Xiao Li Zi) (China) Guangyi Yu
Best Short
Young Blood (Shao Nian Xue) (China) Haolun Shu
Emirati Awards
Best UAE Talent
Haydar Mohammed
Most promising UAE female film-maker
Nujoom Al Ghanem
Most promising UAE male film-maker
Saeed Salmeen Al-Murry
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