DIFF lays out red carpet early this year

The World Premiere screening of Jagmohan Mundhra's critically acclaimed film 'Provoked' - which recently featured to a selective audience at the Cannes Film Market - will see several Bollywood stars walk the red carpet at Dubai's Grand Cineplex, to kick start the IIFA Weekend at 5pm on Wednesday, June 14.

"A film like Provoked which addresses important social concerns, is a logical selection for DIFF, a festival that aims to feature socially relevant cinema. It is an important film, and I applaud Aishwarya Rai's brilliant performance," said Neil Stephenson, CEO and Director of DIFF.

Featuring a mix of talent from the East and West, this film further portrays the collaboration of cultures, and it's appropriateness as a Dubai Film Festival sponsored screening.

At its 2005 edition, DIFF showcased premieres of similar films with social relevance such as Deepa Mehta's 'Water' and Hany Abu Assad's 'Paradise Now', with the latter winning the Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.

DIFF has joined forces with IIFA to help bring the best of Asian cinema to the global forefront, of which India is a key contributor. DIFF also hopes to strengthen ties with the Indian Film Industry, in hopes of bringing more films and guests from India to this year's festival.

Some guests expected to attend the IIFA Weekend in Dubai from June 14 to 17, include Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Rani Mukerjee, Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor and Shabana Azmi, amongst others.

Stephenson met with IIFA's brand ambassador, Amitabh Bachchan earlier this year, where he extended him an invitation to attend this year's edition of DIFF, taking place from December 10-17, 2006.