Evan Rachel Wood at Abu Dhabi Film Festival

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival opens in the capital tonight. Here's what to look forward to.All eyes are on the capital as the fifth Abu Dhabi Film Festival opens on Thursday.Monsieur Lazhar, the new critically acclaimed French-Canadian drama directed by Philippe Falardeau, opens proceedings at the all-new venue of the Fairmont, Bab Al Bahar, on Thursday, with an outdoor red carpet screening.From then on things just get better and better. Todd Solondz, director of Dark Horse, is in town, along with the director of the much talked about Trishna, Michael Winterbottom.Marjane Satrapi — the talented graphic novelist and director who brought the world Persepolis — will be in town with her next work, Chicken With Plums, another graphic novel adaptation.Evan Rachel Wood will attend as the star of George Clooney's The Ides of March, although she's perhaps best known for her role in True Blood and as a former flame of shock rocker Marylin Manson. Clooney will not attend — he's just gone on holiday to Mexico with his new girlfriend. Topher Grace of The Double and earlier of That '70s Show, will also walk the red carpet at the premiere of that spy thriller, which also stars Richard Gere and was produced by Abu Dhabi's Image Nation.Film festival and industry favourite Adrian Sitaru, a Romanian director, will screen his Best Intentions.A film festival is nothing without a red carpet and while this year is looking a little thin, the celebs who have confirmed are sure to cause a stir. Lily Cole, Wood and Grace are all set to walk the carpet during the 10-day festival.ADFF also pays special attention to developments in Arab cinema, fostering the region's distinctive film culture and celebrating its achievements with a global audience.This year, nearly half of the festival's programme of short and feature-length films is from the Arab world, providing local audiences the chance to explore and understand what is exciting and distinctive about the region they live in and the world of film currently growing within it.Abu Dhabi Theatre on the breakwater: Gala screenings will take place here on select evenings. Guests will walk the red carpet before some of the most highly anticipated films of the festival.Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Between the Bridges: Outdoor screenings by the water on select evenings, as well as the invitation-only opening ceremony tonight. The awards ceremony, also invitation only, takes place on October 21.Vox Cinemas, Marina Mall: This is where the public can catch all the regular screenings, from tomorrow until October 20.Marina Mall: ADFF "On Location". Join the festival excitement from 12-10pm daily until October 22. For each Dh250 spent in any store, shoppers have the chance to win prizes including a trip to Paris, make-overs with Make Up For Ever, and exclusive festival passes to screenings and after-parties.When the festival opens tonight, all the action will be outdoors on the beach at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr. The Waterfront Films screenings will continue for the rest of the festival — eight nights and eight films, the majority Middle East premieres.The screen itself, already in place, is massive - over 1200 square metres, and six stories tall. It's mounted on a hydraulic system that allows it to be unobtrusive during the day, and quickly raised when the time comes each night to convert the beach into a cinema.Accompanied by a huge digital surround sound system, for eight nights it will certainly be the most striking and unusual cinema in Abu Dhabi.Abu Dhabi Film Festival takes place from October 13 to 22.