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META Film Fest to Return to Dubai in November

The annual festival showcases the best of international films. WAM
The annual festival showcases the best of international films. WAM
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META Film Fest to Return to Dubai in November

The annual festival showcases the best of international films. WAM
The annual festival showcases the best of international films. WAM

META Film Fest, the star-studded, four-day international motion picture gala, will return to Dubai for its second edition from November 9 to 12, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

The annual festival, which showcases the best of international films, promises an extraordinary celebration of cinema for filmmakers, industry professionals, and movie lovers alike, WAM said.

The META Film Fest 2023 will focus on delivering an unparalleled experience through its emphasis on quality content, workshops and masterclasses tailored for budding filmmakers, premieres of cutting-edge independent and studio-produced films, and a prestigious, high-profile judging panel.

With the support of content partners such as the Royal Film Commission – Jordan, Papillon Creative, Frontrow Entertainment, and MAD Solutions, and Festival Partners including Cinema Akil, the META Film Fest is set to bolster Dubai’s Creative Economy and support the UAE’s National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries. The four-day celebration of films will take place at VOX Cinemas, Wafi City.

“This year’s META Film Fest will cement Dubai’s position and capability as a hub for filmmakers and creatives to congregate, share knowledge, and promote their own and their peers’ work. The festival garners immense appreciation from movie enthusiasts and industry professionals, and this year’s edition will see significant growth in the number and caliber of films being shown,” said Founder of META Film Fest Leila Masinaei.

The META Film Fest adopts an independent, objective approach in its shortlisting process, ensuring the best of the regional industry is spotlighted at the event. Over the four days, it will show more than 70 movies from 20+ countries, host 10+ workshops, and welcome more than 50 global celebrities and 15,000 attendees. The incredible roster of shortlisted films will be announced in the coming weeks, WAM said.

This year's awards will span 12 categories, covering feature films, short films, documentaries, debut works, student projects, films with a sustainability focus, and newly introduced special categories to celebrate home-grown UAE talent.

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Kim Kardashian Will Testify in Paris Trial About Jewelry Heist That Upended Her Life 

US socialite Kim Kardashian arrives for the 4th Annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
US socialite Kim Kardashian arrives for the 4th Annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
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Kim Kardashian Will Testify in Paris Trial About Jewelry Heist That Upended Her Life 

US socialite Kim Kardashian arrives for the 4th Annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
US socialite Kim Kardashian arrives for the 4th Annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, October 19, 2024. (AFP)

The last time Kim Kardashian faced the men that police say robbed her, she was bound with zip ties and held at gunpoint, and feared she might die. On Tuesday, nearly a decade later, she returns to Paris to testify against them.

One of the most recognizable figures on the planet is expected to take the stand against the 10 men accused of orchestrating the 2016 robbery that left her locked in a marble bathroom while masked assailants made off with more than $6 million in jewels.

Kardashian is set to speak about the trauma that reshaped her life and redefined the risks of celebrity in the age of social media. Her appearance is expected to be the most emotionally charged moment of a trial that began last month.

Court officials are bracing for a crowd, and security will be tight. A second courtroom has been opened for journalists following via video feed.

Kardashian’s testimony is expected to revisit, in painful detail, how intruders zip-tied her hands, demanded her ring, and left her believing she might never see her children again.

Twelve suspects were originally charged. One has died. Another has been excused from proceedings due to serious illness. Most are in their 60s and 70s — dubbed les papys braqueurs, or “the grandpa robbers,” by the French press — but investigators insist they were no harmless retirees. Authorities have described them as a seasoned and coordinated criminal group.

Two of the defendants have admitted being at the scene. The others deny any involvement — some even claim they didn’t know who Kardashian was. But police say the group tracked her movements through her own social media posts, which flaunted her jewelry, pinpointed her location, and exposed her vulnerability.

The heist transformed Kardashian into a cautionary tale of hyper-visibility in the digital age.

In the aftermath, she withdrew from public life. She developed severe anxiety and later described symptoms of agoraphobia. “I hated to go out,” she said in a 2021 interview. “I didn’t want anybody to know where I was ... I just had such anxiety.”

Her lawyers confirmed she would appear in court. “She has tremendous appreciation and admiration for the French judicial system,” they wrote, adding that she hopes the trial proceeds “in an orderly fashion ... and with respect for all parties.”

Once dismissed in parts of the French press as a reality TV spectacle — and lambasted by Karl Lagerfeld for being too flashy — Kardashian now returns as a key witness in a case that has forced a wider reckoning with how celebrity, crime, and perception collide.

Her lawyers say she is “particularly grateful” to French authorities — and ready to confront those who attacked her with dignity.