The annual Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is back again for its fifth year and will be taking place from the 11th and 18th of December 2008. The eight-day festival will feature 181 world class films from 66 countries, celebrities, the Muhr Awards, and the return of the Dubai Film Connection. New to this year's film festival is the Dubai Film Market, which emphasises on Arab, Asian and African filmmakers with an aim to raise the visibility of world cinema and stimulate regional and international film production and trade.

The DIFF program is divided into three main sections - Gala Screenings, Film Programs, and Special Events. The Gala Screenings will be held each night of the DIFF at Madinat Jumeirah and outstanding films will be shown. The Film Programs is the main section of the DIFF program which showcases films, documentaries, and shorts. The Special Events will have social events and panel discussions.
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Movies screened at DIFF 2008 will be screened at Grand Cinemas in Dubai Festival City, Cinestar Cinemas in the Mall of the Emirates, Madinat Jumeirah (Madinat Arena and the Madinat Theatre), and the Dubai Media City (DMC) Amphitheatre. View Daily Screening Schedule...

DIFF Box Offices are located at the Souk Madinat Jumeirah, the lobby of the CNN building at Dubai Media City, Cinestar at Mall of the Emirates, and the Grand Cinemas. All Box Offices are open from 10:00 to 22:00, with the exception of the CNN Building, which will open from 10:00 to 18:00. You can also purchase ticekts online at DIFFTickets.com, while the DIFF phone sales line can be reached on 04-367-6701, and is open from 9:00 to 18:00 before the festival and 9:00 to 21:00 during the festival.

Ticket prices are Dh25 for adults and Dh20 for students and children. For Gala screenings, tickets are Dh50 for adults and children (16 and older).

DIFF Muhr Awards Competition
Dubai Film Festival will continue its award competition to recognize regional and international filmakers, with prize gives aways for totalling US$ 576,000 to recipients of the Muhr Award, which are selected by a prestigious international jury. The competition has been extended this year to include Muhr AsiaAfrica, and the “Prize of the International Critics” for best feature film in the Muhr Awards for Excellence in Arab Cinema with the partnership of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).

DIFF 2008 Celebrity Attendants
Attendances of the Dubai Film Festival 2008 include hollywood's Nicholas Cage, Brendan Fraser, Oliver Stone, Danny Glover, Eliza Bennett, and Charles Roven. Indian celebrities include Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Deepa Mehta, Nandita Das, and Mamooty. Arab celebrities will include Yasmina Khadra, Carmen Lebbos, Sameer Ghanem, Sameer Sabri, Jameel Rateb, Yahya Al Fakhrani, Hicham Saleem, Saeed Saleh, Sabah Al Jazayari, Salaf Fawakharji, Tayyam Hasan, Samer Al Masri and Jamal Sulaiman. GCC stars like Saad Abdullah, Mohammed Al Mansoor, AbdurRahman al Aqal, Tareq Al Ali, Lateefa Al Majran, Suaad Ali, Abdul Mohsin Al Namar, Nasir Al Qasbi, Abdul Aziz Jasim and Ghanem Al Saliti. The UAE will be well represented by Ahmed Al Jasmi, Jaber Naghmoosh, Habeeb Ghaloom, Moza Al Mazroohi, Ahmed Al Ansari, Marwan Abdullah Saleh, and Maree al Halyan.

Cinema Against AIDS Dubai
This event was added to DIFF in 2007 and will continue this year to feature a rare and unusual luxury items that will be auctioned at the fundraising event. The auction will raise funds for The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), the world’s leading organization dedicated to the HIV/AIDS research, prevention, education, and public policy advocacy. This year's event will be feted by a number of A-list celebrities such as Goldie Hawn, Salma Hayek, Laura Linney and Preity Zinta (Honourary Chair).

DIFF 2008 Sponsors
Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai Duty Free, Emirates Airlines, and Dubai Pearl are principal sponsors. Other sponsors of DIFF 2008 include AMG (Arab Media Group), Dubai Media Incorporated, Gulf News, The Hollywood Reporter, Khaleej Times, Real Media, Al Nasr Publishing, Amouge, Dessange, Dubai Airports, Eye of Dubai, FedEx, Harry Winston, Harvey Nichols, HP, MAC, Media Watch, MMI, Motivate Publishing, and Sony.