The political biography film "W " about U.S. President George W. Bush directed by Oliver Stone kicked off the fifth edition of Dubai International Film Festival Thursday evening at Dubai's coastal resort Madinat Jumeirah.

During the eight-day film festival, audience will have the opportunity to enjoy 179 features, shorts and documentaries from more than 60 countries or regions.

The Dubai International Film Festival was launched in December 2004 under the theme "Bridging Cultures, Meeting Minds." The festival is targeted at acting as a platform for showcasing excellent Arab films and contributing to the development and growth of the regional industry and talent.

Organizers of the festival introduced the Muhr Awards for Excellence in Cinema in 2006 with the aim of recognizing Arab filmmakers both regionally and internationally. This year's festival will extend the Muhr Awards to Asian and African films to honor the craft of filmmakers from outside the Arab region.

A total of 38 Arab films and 41 films from Asia and Africa will compete for the Muhr Awards in the categories of features, shorts and documentaries.

In addition, this year's festival will present lifetime achievement awards to three directors, namely Terry Gilliam from the United States, Tsui Hark from China's Hong Kong and Rachid Bouchareb from France.

The past four editions of the Dubai International Film Festival have presented 429 films from more than 50 countries.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2008)