Hollywood A-listers Cate Blanchett, Martin Sheen, Mark Ruffalo and Rooney Mara will all be appearing at the tenth Dubai International Film Festival.

The nine-day extravaganza, which starts on Friday December 6, will show a total of 174 features, shorts and documentaries including 70 world premieres and 11 international premieres from 57 countries in 43 languages from both established and upcoming talent.

David O Russell’s American Hustle, starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis CK and Robert De Niro, will get its first festival screening anywhere in the world after being selected for the prestigious Closing Night Gala.

Other highlights include:

Frozen, from the Walt Disney Animation Studios.
August: Osage County, a film by John Wells featuring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
Labor Day starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.
12 Years A Slave Steve McQueen’s Oscar-tipped epic with  Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt.
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, which was directed by its star, Ben Stiller.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom starring Idris Elba and  Naomie Harris.
Saving Mr. Banks, which sees Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson share the screen under the guidance of John Lee Hancock.
Out of the Furnace featuring Christian Bale and Casey Affleck.
Words & Pictures with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche.
Walking With Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie directed by Barry Cook and Neil Nightingale.

Omar, by Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe winning Palestinian director Hany Abu Assad will raise the curtain on the decennial edition eight years after his Paradise Now opened the festival. Set to become an Arab classic the masterfully paced film boasts compelling performances from Adam Bakri,  Samer Bisharat, Eyad Hourani and Waleed Zuaiter.

You can watch trailers from a selection of the features being shown by CLICKING HERE

Speaking at the announcement, Abdulhamid Juma, DIFF Chairman reflected on the milestone: “When DIFF launched ten years ago, we had very sizeable goals and were full of the spirit that saw the astounding growth of Dubai over the same period. We trusted in our community to support us and we knew there was strong demand for a world-class cultural event devoted to cinema. Since those early days, we have seen a surge in confidence in Arab cinema year on year, and DIFF is now the premiere platform for launching Middle Eastern films.

“We have been able to support and nurture filmmaking talent from emerging markets around the world whilst simultaneously supporting the development of a UAE film industry closer to home. We have developed grassroots industry programming, and have welcomed thousands of regional and international celebrities and festival guests.

“At our ten year milestone, we would like to express our gratitude to our supporters: Dubai’s leadership, our community members, from volunteers to cinema lovers, our sponsors, and the filmmakers themselves. It is thanks to you that DIFF is now a Dubai tradition, and we look forward to many more decades together.”