Dubai International Film Festival starts with 'The Life of Pi'

Dubai: Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) 9th edition was opened on Monday by the famous film 'The Life of Pi' with its lead cast walking the red carpet, sources said.

Sources said that the adventure fantasy about an Indian boy adrift in the ocean with a Bengal tiger was based on prize winning novel of the same name by Yann Martel and was directed by Ang Lee. The opening scenes of the film were shot in India while a large section dealing with ocean scenes was shot in a giant water tank in Taiwan, Lee’s birth country, said sources. Some leading names from Arab cinema, Australian actress Cate Blanchett and India-born star Freida Pinto addedglamour to the opening gala. Frieda Pinto is part of the international judging panel at DIFF for the short film competitions in the Arab, AsiaAfrica andEmirati categories while Blanchett is heading the jury for the IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Award, sources added. Sources further said that at least 158 films in 43 languages from 61 countries had been lined up for the festival. The festival was first arranged in 2004 to promote gulf films in the international market. The festival will continue till December 16.