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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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At Venice Film Festival, Jude Law Debuts ‘The Order’ about FBI Manhunt for Domestic Terrorist

Jude Law poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'The Order' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Jude Law poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'The Order' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
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At Venice Film Festival, Jude Law Debuts ‘The Order’ about FBI Manhunt for Domestic Terrorist

Jude Law poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'The Order' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Jude Law poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'The Order' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Jude Law plays an FBI agent investigating the violent crimes of a white supremacist group in “The Order,” which premieres Saturday at the Venice Film Festival.

An adaptation of Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt’s nonfiction book “The Silent Brotherhood,” Nicolas Hoult was cast as Robert Jay Mathews, the charismatic leader of the group which was considered the most radical hate group since the Ku Klux Klan. Their crimes, including bank robberies and armored car heists that the group was using to fund an armed revolution, led to one of the largest manhunts in FBI history, in 1983, according to The AP.

“What amazed me was it was a story I hadn’t heard about before,” said Law, who also produced. “It like a piece of work that needed to be made now.”

He added: “It’s always interesting finding a piece from the relative past that has some relationship to the present day.”

Law made the trip to Italy with his director, Justin Kurzel, and co-stars Hoult, Jurnee Smollett and Tye Sheridan for the premiere.

His character, called Agent Huss, is an amalgam FBI agent and not based on a specific person. This, they said, was important for positioning him within this story.

“He represents an awful lot of us,” Law said. “He felt his hardest work was behind him and in fact he had his biggest battle ahead of him.”

Kurzel, an Australian filmmaker known for the 2015 adaptation of “Macbeth” with Michael Fassbender, said he’d always wanted to make an American film in the vein of dramatic thrillers from the 1970s like “The French Connection,” “Mississippi Burning” and “All the Presidents’ Men.” He tried to make this film with the classic simplicity he admired in those classics.

Hoult felt it was a “difficult story to tell and difficult characters to inhabit,” but praised his director for helping to create a safe and creative environment as they explored the darkness of Mathews. He’d just recently learned, on the boat over to the Lido, that Kurzel had told Law to actually follow him around one day to get into character.

“The first time we spoke was in the first scene we interact,” Hoult said. “It gave a great energy.”

And all were struck by the parallels to today. Though no one wanted to comment directly on the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the film, they hope, speaks for itself.

“The history of America is very complex,” Smollett said. “This level of bigotry is not new and it has existed in our nation since it was founded. As artists we get to hold a mirror up to society....explore the very complex sides of humanity, the ugliness, the darkness in order for us to learn from it and hopefully not repeat it.”

“The Order” is playing in competition at Venice, alongside “ Maria,” “ Babygirl,” “The Room Next Door," “Queer” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.”

Vertical Entertainment will release the film in theaters later this year.