Diff beauty brigade: Emily Blunt, Eva Longoria in Dubai

Every December, thousands of cinema-goers, actors, directors, producers, writers and industry experts descend on Dubai to enjoy the world's best films in one of the world's premiere locations.

Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in its 11th edition announces a series of highly anticipated screenings for its red carpet gala line-up.

Still from 'The Theory of Everything'

This year, Diff will open on December 10 with Stephen Hawking biopic 'The Theory of Everything' by Academy Award winning director James Marsh.

Starring Eddie Redmayne as the renowned astrophysicist and Felicity Jones as his love, fellow student Jane Wilde, the extraordinary story follows the life of one of the world's greatest living minds.

The humorous and heartfelt musical 'Into the Woods' an international premiere will close the curtain.

Emily Blunt. (Supplied)

Featuring an all star cast including Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine, the film blends classic stories from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel.

'Into the Woods' is directed by acclaimed director Rob Marshall.

A total of 118 features, film shorts and documentaries are set to be screened over 8 days at this year's edition; including 55 world and international premieres from 48 countries in 34 languages.

Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman of Diff, said, “Diff has come so far in the past 11 years, introducing new audiences to Arab cinema, fostering talent and welcoming the industry's greatest directors, producers, writers and actors. I am proud to say that Diff has contributed to putting the region's film industry on the global map."

Still from 'Into The Woods'

At the opening ceremony, Lifetime Achievement Award will be awarded to Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif, for his work on more than 100 films in a career that has spanned almost 5 decades.

Golden Globe winner and IWC Brand Ambassador Emily Blunt will be joining the jury for the third IWC Filmmaker Award.

International celebrities flying into Dubai this December include Emily Blunt, Kelsey Grammer, Paul Bettany, Yilmaz Erdogan, Olga Kurylenko, John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal.

Arab celebrities set to grace the red-carpet include: Nour El-Sherif, Mervat Amin, Samir Sabri, Daoud Abdel Sayed, Laila Taher, Mohamed Sobhi, Lebleba, Jamal Suliman,  Hani Ramzi, Lotfy Labib, Tamer Hosny, Karim Abdel Aziz, Bassem Yakhour , Khaled Abol Naga, Samer al-Masry, Eyad Nassar, Abid Fahad, Suzan Najm Aldeen, Ayten Amer, Iman Al Assi, InjyEl Mokaddem, Amina Khalil, Sameh El-Agamy, Dorra, Iman Yousif, Khaleel Abdul Nabi, Amir Ramses, Nadine El Rassi, Ahmed Safwat, May Nour El-Sherif and Medhat Saleh.

From the GCC and UAE: Saad Al-Faraj, Khalid Ameen, Haifaa Hussain, Jamaan Alrowaiei, Maree AlHalyan, Waleed Al Shehhi,  Nujoom al-Ghanem,  Khalid Albudoor, Ali F. Mostafa, Reem Erhama,  Amal Al Awadi, Ashjan, Layla Abdullah, Ahd Kamil, Abdullah Boushahri and Saeed Salmeen Al Murry.

On December 14th Diff will partner with Dubai Cares and will be presenting The Global Gift Gala in association with Marina Home Interiors as the official charity Gala of DIFF, with honorary Chair Eva Longoria and Founders Alina Peralta and Maria Bravo.

The Global Gift Gala will be supporting The Eva Longoria Foundation – which provides education and entrepreneurship opportunities to women – Sunrise K Foundation, which raises awareness of childhood glaucoma and the Global Gift Foundation ensuring no child will starve.

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