Tom Cruise-starrer 'Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol' will debut to the world as the opening film of Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) which kicks off on December 7.

This joint announcement by Paramount Pictures and the Diff celebrates the Mission: Impossible team’s return to Dubai after extensive filming in the city, including shoots spanning its old town, downtown financial hub and offshore Palm island development.

Directed by Oscar winner Brad Bird and featuring Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor and Léa Seydoux, the fourth installment in the mega-successful Mission: Impossible franchise has been described as the most inventive, action-filled and visually arresting yet.

Dubai will reprise its own starring role in the film when Cruise, Bird and the film’s co-stars take to the opening night red carpet alongside the city’s leadership at the Madinat Jumeirah, The Arabian Resort – Dubai, home to the Diff.

Adrenaline, ambition and A-list star power will converge in Dubai next month, when the movie makes it global debut, said a senior Diff official.

With incredible stunt sequences featured throughout the movie, including the iconic scene of Cruise scaling the world’s tallest tower Burj Khalifa, the movie also features Dubai footage shot in high-definition Imax, promising crystal-clear imagery, powerful audio and a fantastically immersive experience.

Framed for a terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, Impossible Missions Force (IMF) operative Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his entire remaining team (Renner, Patton, Pegg) are disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the president initiates “Ghost Protocol”, essentially erasing the agency from existence.

Left with no resources or backup, the team must find a way on their own to clear their names and prevent another attack.

To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know or trust.   

The film’s return to Dubai, following shoots done in Prague, Moscow, Mumbai and Vancouver, is a coup for the emirate, its film festival and the region’s film industry.

Under the patronage of UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Diff has steadily built its reputation as a global launching pad for Arab, Asian, African and other world cinema and as a facilitator of cultural exchange.

Ahmad Abdulla Al Shaikh, director general of the Dubai Government Media Office, said: “We await with great excitement the return of the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol filmmakers, crew, and talent to Dubai in December.'

'Dubai’s continuing relationship with the film is a mark of trust in its world-class infrastructure, capabilities and leadership. This relationship is a point of pride not only for the emirate but for the region as a whole,' he added.
      
The developments also mark a coming of age for the first festival in the Gulf region and arguably the most successful in the Arab world and near Asia-Africa, said Abdulhamid Juma, the Diff chairman.

'Dubai and the UAE are the ‘Mission: Possible’ of the Arab world, so this link is particularly fitting,' he remarked.
 
“There is no doubt that this film will have a transformative effect on the region’s film industry, through knowledge transfer, inspiring emerging filmmakers, paving the way for many more collaborations and drawing attention to cinema from this part of the world,” he added.

Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures said, “We are looking forward to sharing the film first with Dubai.”

“Along with the producers, we are grateful to the governmental entities and residents who contributed to its successful shoot in Dubai,” he stated.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol will be released in theatres across the globe this December.

The Festival has also promised an unprecedented fan experience for opening night, to accommodate the nation’s excitement at the film’s homecoming.

More than 5,000 Dubai residents vied to serve as extras during the Dubai shoot, in addition to the 400-plus crewmembers.-TradeArabia News Service