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At this year’s Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), renowned Hollywood writer/director Oliver Stone will receive the DIFF Salutes award in recognition of his lifetime achievements; the trophy is given every year to an honouree from three cinema strongholds: Asia, Hollywood and the Arab world.
Stone, writer/director of critically acclaimed box office hits including Any Given Sunday (1999), JFK (1991), Wall Street (1987) and Platoon (1986) will receive his accolade at a special awards ceremony as part of the closing night proceedings on Sunday, December 17th at al Sahra Desert Resort.
DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma expanded on the choice of Stone as a DIFF honouree: “Mr. Stone has been consistently bold, uncompromising and outspoken in his work, tirelessly defending his vision and pushing the limits of cinema. His is the kind of spirit the DIFF Salutes programme recognizes: without his contribution, surely world cinema would be paler and more timid. He has inspired countless imitators, but none have matched his vigour.”
From Stone’s diverse body of work, DIFF will present his most recent film, World Trade Center (2006), the true story of real people affected by the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, which ultimately turns into a story of hope and redemption. Stone will present the film at a special screening in the Madinat Theatre on Saturday, December 16th at 4pm.
Stone’s critically acclaimed Salvador (1986) will also screen at the festival. One of his earliest major motion pictures follows a war photographer and a disc jockey on a journey through war-torn El Salvador; the film garnered two Oscar nominations in 1987, one for Stone himself for Best Original Screenplay, and one for James Woods as Best Actor.
He will participate in the first Operation Cultural Bridge panel on cinema as a tool of cultural dialogue and understanding, to take place on Friday, December 15 at 7:00 pm, also at the Madinat Theatre. Richard Gere will serve on the panel along with other distinguished industry figures; the discussion will be moderated by journalist Riz Khan.
Screening Times:
Salvador: 9:15 pm, Thursday December 14, Mall of the Emirates 2
World Trade Center:
Oliver Stone presenting: Saturday, December 16th at 4pm, Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah.
4:45 pm, Saturday December 16, Mall of the Emirates 2
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