Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid poses after receiving the best fiction Muhr award from Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum during the closing ceremony of the Dubai International Film Festival yesterday.
Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid’s film As I Open My Eyes won the top award for fiction feature yesterday at the Dubai International Film Festival.
Set in Tunisia months before the 2011 uprising, the film narrates the story 18-year-old Farah, who defies taboos, joining a political rock band, far from her parents’ wish to see her become a doctor.
The French-Tunisian-Belgian co-production had featured in previous film festivals, including Toronto and Venice.
“I am very happy and proud,” Bouzid told AFP after winning the Best Muhr Fiction Feature prize.
In total, 130 films from 60 countries, including long features, short films and documentaries, have been screened during the annual festival.
French actress Catherine Deneuve was honoured at the opening of the festival last week with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
