Star Wars premiere marks end of the Dubai International Film Festival
DUBAI: The Dubai International Film Festival wrapped up Wednesday night with the long-awaited return of Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” at the movie’s MENA premiere.
Fans attending the festival engaged in a cosplay extravaganza, with exclusive photo opportunities and prizes for the best-dressed up for grabs at the event.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the film features an interstellar cast of rising stars and old favorites, including late actress Carrie Fisher in her final role.
In the film, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of “The Force Awakens” join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries and shocking revelations of the past.
“Rian Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi’ is, by wide measure, the trippiest, scrappiest and most rule-breaking ‘Star Wars’ adventure yet,” according to an Associated Press review of the film.
“Johnson’s Episode VIII takes George Lucas’ space opera in new, often thrilling, and sometimes erratic directions while finding the truest expression yet of the saga’s underlying ethos of camaraderie in resistance to oppression. Though there are countless familiar broad strokes — rebel escapes, Jedi soulsearching, daddy issues — ‘The Last Jedi’ has discovered some new moves yet, in the galaxy far, far away,” the review added.
The red carpet roll out marked the end of the Dubai Film Festival, which opened on Dec. 6 and showcased 140 short and feature length films in more than 38 languages from 51 countries in the Arab world and beyond. The movies were screened across the city, including the main location at Souk Madinat Jumeirah as well as VOX Cinemas, Mall of the Emirates and VOX Cinemas, Galleria Mall.
This year, organizers chose three individuals to receive DIFF Honorary Awards in celebration of those who have contributed to the international film industry.