DIFF 2016 to honour renowned composer Gabriel Yared with Lifetime Achievement award

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today revealed that Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Grammy award-winning French Lebanese composer Gabriel Yared will be the recipient of this year’s prestigious Arab Lifetime Achievement Award. An internationally acclaimed composer whose impressive filmography spans three decades, Yared will receive the award in recognition of his incredible contributions to cinema. The composer is set to receive the accolade amongst the local, regional and international film community at the 13^th edition of DIFF, 7-14 December 2016.

A self-taught musician, Yared devoted his passion to the silver screen with more than 100 original scores composed to date for a wide range of films since the 1980s. First making his mark in the industry with his scores for ‘Betty Blue’ (1986) and ‘Camille Claudel’ (1988), the Lebanese-born Yared gained international recognition with his creation of "The English Patient" score. The composition won him an Academy Award, a BAFTA,  Golden Globe and a Grammy Award, and he went on to continue his masterful work with the nominated scores for ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ (1999) and ‘Cold Mountain’ (2003). A welcoming and supportive figure in the field, Yared also is the founder and director of the Pléiade Academy, which nurtures and promotes talented young composers in the production and promotion of their works. He is currently working on the score for Xavier Dolan's next film, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, starring Jessica Chastain, Kit Harington, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, and Michael Gambon.

DIFF’s Chairman, Abdulhamid Juma remarked on the importance of recognizing those who have dedicated their lives to cinema:

“Each aspect of film requires an impressive depth of talent and we are thrilled to recognize the musical inspirations from Gabriel Yared’s career. A true master of his craft, Yared’s work has been the backbone to the ever-changing film industry. We are delighted to welcome him to the 13^th Festival and honour his talents with a Lifetime Achievement Award this December.”

For his part, Gabriel Yared expressed his happiness on receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award: "I am delighted and honoured to have been selected to receive this prestigious award. My sincere thanks go to all those involved in DIFF".

DIFF’s Lifetime Achievement Awards are dedicated to honouring the world’s greatest film industry actors, writers, directors and producers. Previous honourees include Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, Faten Hamamah, Adel Imam, Jameel Rateb, Sabah, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, Shah Rukh Khan, Daoud Abdel Sayed, Youssef Chahine, Rachid Bouchareb,  Martin Sheen, Nabil El-Maleh, Oliver Stone, Danny Glover, Terry Gilliam, Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz and Sami Bouajila.

Registration is now open for media, students and industry professionals for the 13th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival which will take place from the 7th December – 14th December, 2016. Please visit www.diff.ae for more information.