The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) will annually present two exceptional Arab films to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in Los Angeles, USA for Golden Globe Award consideration.

The inaugural event hosted on November 14 will see Mohamed Diab present his thriller ‘Clash’ and Assad Fouladkar present his daring and entertaining comedy ‘Halal Love’ to the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).

Both films have captivated audiences around the world and found acclaim with critics and audiences alike, trail-blazing performances, compelling storylines, contemporary and talented filmmaking have earned these films global recognition.

Egyptian director and writer, Mohamed Diab’s ‘Clash’ is his second directorial project and opened the Un Certain Regard at the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and has been selected as Egypt’s entry to the 2017 Oscars. ‘Clash’ is the much-anticipated follow up to his directorial debut the commercially successful and multi-award winning ‘Cairo 678’ which he also wrote.

The second showcase is Lebanese director and writer Assad Fouladkar’s ‘Halal Love’ which is his second feature film, his first feature film ‘When Maryam Spoke out’ won major awards around the world and was Lebanon’s official entry to the Academy Awards.

The treatment of ‘Halal Love’ was selected by Open Doors of the Locarno Film Festival and following the world premiere at DIFF’s 12th edition was in competition at Sundance Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Rotterdam International Film Festival.

This initiative is a perfect example of DIFF’s aim to support and promote the success of Arab film at an international level.

Abdulhamid Juma, DIFF chairman said: “We are very excited to be in a position to showcase prominent cinematic works from the region on an annual basis to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and we are grateful for their continued support of Arab cinema.”

“The Golden Globes are one of the greatest iconic awards honouring film excellence and this kind of recognition is key to raising the profile of Arab cinema on the world stage. Mohamed Diab and Assad Fouladkar are great examples of outstanding Arab talent who have both made hugely compelling features and who truly deserve the acclaim they have been receiving,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service