To participate in an international film festival from December 10-17 a Chinese film delegation has been in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It's the first time China has sent a delegation of film makers to the Emirates.

Dubai, a pearl in the Middle East, will view a wave of Asian films from China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines shown as part of the "Insights from Asia" segment of the 2006 Dubai International Film Festival. Films from other countries are also being shown.  

Li Qiankuan, the famed director and vice-chairman of Chinese Association of Film Artists along with six other members including actors Pu Cunxin, Tao Hong and Pan Yueming brought two films to screen – A Moon and Life Show -- at the festival.

In total 115 films from 47 countries are being shown at the festival over eight days. The Dubai International Film Festival offers a competition for new Arab films as well as an out of competition section for Arab and international cinema.

 A Moon  
Life Show

In the narrative competition this year are Faouzi Bensaidi's French/German/Moroccan film WWW: What a Wonderful World; Hala Khalil's Egyptian entry Qass We Lazq (Cut & Paste); Jilani Saadi's Tunisian title Ors El Dhib (Tender Is The Wolf); Salma Baccar's Tunisian film Khochkhach (Flower of Forgetfulness); Rachid Bouchareb's French, Moroccan, Algerian and Belgian film Indigenes (Days of Glory); Bassam Al Thawadi's Bahrain entry Hekaya Bahrainiya (A Bahraini Tale); Michel Kammoun's Lebanese film Falafel; Djamila Sahraoui's Algerian/French film Barakati; Ghassan Salhab's Lebanese/French titled Atal (The Last Man) and Hakim Belabbes's Moroccan entry Alesh A Lebhar? (Why O'Sea?).

Competing for the Muhr Award in the documentary section are Nejib Belkadhi's Tunisian title V.H.S. – Kahloucha; Tahani Rached's Egyptian film These Girls; Tamer Ezzat's Egyptian film The Place I Call Home; Walid Al Awadi's Kuwaiti entry Storm of the South; Mohammed Bakri's Palestinian entry Since You Left; Samir Abdallah's Egyptian/Moroccan entry Quo Vadis?; Dima Al-Joundi's Lebanese entry Maid for Sale; Hala Al Abdalla Yakoub and Ammar Al Beik's Syrian film I Am The One Who Brings Flowers to Her Grave; Mai Masri's Lebanese title Beirut Diaries: Truth, Lies and Videos and Khadija Al-Salami's Amina from Yemen.

The Muhr competition for new Arab film includes 10 titles in each of three (narrative, documentary and short) categories. The makers of 30 films are competing for US$325,000 in cash prizes.

The Dubai International Film Festival was established in 2004.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui December 14, 2006)