Freida Pinto part of Dubai International Film Festival international jury

India-born actress Freida Pinto is part of the international jury at the upcoming Dubai International Film Festival.

The Slumdog Millionaire star will join world famous names like Michael Apted, Kerry Fox, Bruno Barreto, Chang Dong Lee, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya and Nayla Al Khaja at the festival where 80 films will compete for over USD 575,000 in prize money across three categories - Muhr Emirati, Muhr Arab and Muhr AsiaAfrica.

Pinto will be part of the judging panel for the short film competitions in the Muhr Arab, Muhr AsiaAfrica and Muhr Emirati categories, which is headed by film critic Mark Adams.

Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja is also part of this jury.

The Muhr Arab Documentary Jury will be led by British filmmaker Michael Apted. He will be joined by Jordanian documentarian Azza El Hassan and Chris Fujiwara, artistic director of the Edinburgh international film festival (EIFF).

The filmmakers competing in the Muhr Arab Feature competition will be assessed by Brazilian director Bruno Barreto, who is also President of the Jury.

Assisting him will be Egyptian actor Asser Yassin, Tunisian film director Moufida Tlatli, Martin Schweighofer, CEO of the Austrian Film Commission and acclaimed author Adnan Madanat.

The Muhr AsiaAfrica Awards jury will be headed by South Korean film director Lee Chang-dong. Istanbul International Film Festival Director Azize Tan, Iranian actress Fatemah Motamed-Aria, New Zealand actress Kerry Fox and Nigerian director and cinematographer Tunde Kelani will join him.

The Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary Jury will be led by award-winning Palestinian documentarian Mai Masri at the helm and joined by South Korean documentarian Kim Dong-won and German filmmaker Bettina Blumner.

"It is a testament to the success of our programme that we have been able to draw the sheer amount of talent from around the world for our juries this year, and we wish them luck with their difficult task," said Abdulhamid Juma, DIFF Chairman.