Exclusive: Dubai’s reputation as a travel and leisure destination has taken a hit in recent months, with the emirate caught in the crosshairs of the US-Iran war, but that has not put an end to the emerging Golden Dunes festival.
Ali and Zeus Zamani, the Los Angeles-based filmmaking duo behind AZ Filmz, are continuing the second edition of the event they spearheaded last year in partnership with Ben Quinn, Scott Carlson, and Don Worley.
Following the inaugural edition centered around the awards ceremony, the second edition has been expanded to three days and will include a program of performances, panels and workshops.
The event announced this on Friday Hellboy Star Ron Perlman, Oscar-winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of sand and fog) and Jerry Maguire Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. signed on as the first wave of judges for the second edition.
Perlman and Aghdashloo will take on particularly active roles, joining panels and workshops alongside their fellow jurors and invited industry guests.
“Films don’t really recognize borders,” Perlman said. “A great story can come from Los Angeles, or Tehran, or Seoul, or Dubai, and if it’s honest, it reaches you. That’s what festivals can do at their best, bring filmmakers into the same room and allow audiences to discover voices they might never encounter.”
Gooding Jr added: “Cinema has always been one of the great bridges between cultures. After participating in Golden Dunes in its first year, I saw first-hand the kind of international exchange that Dubai can create. It is a city where filmmakers and audiences from different parts of the world come together naturally, and there is real value in creating a space where voices from East and West can meet through storytelling.”
The second edition will take place from November 28 to 30, with the Golden Dunes Awards taking place on November 29 at the Belcanto Hotel at Dubai Opera in Downtown Dubai.
“Our first year was about setting up Golden Dunes. The second year is about opening it,” Ali Zamani said. “We want filmmakers to come to Dubai for three days, not just attend an awards ceremony sitting in a room with people like Ron and Shahreh.”
“It’s about their experiences, discovering films from other countries, and building relationships with filmmakers they may never meet.”
The first wave of the jury brings together several generations and fields of filmmaking. Perelman’s credits include Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy, Nightmare alley and Pinocchio Guillermo del Toro.
Agdashloo received an Academy Award nomination for his film House of sand and fog He won an Emmy Award for Saddam’s housewith subsequent credits including Extension and Flight attendant.
Gooding Jr. got He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his film Jerry Maguire After John Singleton hacked Boys N Hoodwith additional credits including A few good men, Men of honor and The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
