The big-budget sequel to 1980s cult favourite Tron has been chosen at the closing gala screening at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), it was announced yesterday.
Tron: Legacy, a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital universe, will be shown on December 18, a day after its release in the US and Canada.
The film reunites many of the original cast and crew, including the Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner and the producer Steven Lisberger. Bridges returns as Kevin Flynn, the world's leading video game designer, who was digitized into a computer grid where programmes living on pure energy take on human form.
In Tron: Legacy, Flynn's son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same grid where his father has been living for 25 years.
DIFF spokesman said Tron: Legacy continued its practice of integrating major 3D films into the festival and its tradition of closing with international films such as Slumdog Millionaire in 2008 and Avatar in 2009.
The festival's artistic director Masoud Amralla al Ali said the selection of Tron: Legacy as the closing gala demonstrated the range of films being screened at the festival.
"Just as DIFF places emphasis on bringing the finest arthouse movies from around the world, we also incorporate the most modern trends in filmmaking to provide a total cinema experience for film enthusiasts. Tron: Legacy, presented in 3D, will be a revelation for filmgoers at DIFF."
Sheila Whitaker, director of international programme at DIFF, said: "Tron set benchmarks in computer-generated imagery back in 1982, and was a film ahead of its time, pushing the frontiers of visual effects. Since its release, the film industry has witnessed revolutionary changes, especially in special effects. Tron: Legacy is expected to set another milestone in computer-generated filmmaking," he said.
The seventh Dubai International Film Festival 2010 will be held from December 12 to 19.
