City of Life
Official poster for the film
Directed by	Ali F. Mostafa
Screenplay by	Gerry Sherard Ali F. Mostafa
Story by	Ali F. Mostafa
Produced by	Leigh Clarke Ali F. Mostafa Tim Smythe Tanya Wagner
Starring	Alexandra Maria Lara Sonu Sood Saoud Al Kaabi Narcy Jason Flemyng Natalie Dormer
Cinematography	Michael Brierley
Edited by	Raul Skopecz
Music by	Matthew Faddy Barry Kirsch
Distributed by	Gate Media Films Filmworks Dubai AFM Films
Release date	11 December 2009 (2009-12-11) (Dubai)
Country	United Arab Emirates
Languages	Arabic English Hindi

City of Life is a 2009 multilingual Emirati film written, directed, and produced by Ali F. Mostafa. Set in the United Arab Emirates, the film revolves around three parallel lives, amongst many cultures in one city, namely, Dubai.

Production

Background

According to the director Ali F. Mostafa, the inspiration for producing City of Life came from his frustration of people comparing Dubai to a Disneyland. According to the director, "Most of them take one look at the glitzy buildings and assume it’s an artificial place. My film has none of that. It has real people with real problems. Like any other city in the world, my film shows both the positives and the negatives."^[1]

Reception

Box office

According to data produced by Italia Film International the movie ranked second in the local box office and successfully made over 500,000 dirhams in its first weekend.^[2]

Cast

• Alexandra Maria Lara as Natalia Moldovan
• Sonu Sood as Basu/Peter Patel
• Saoud Al Kaabi as Faisal
• Narcy as Khalfan
• Susan George as Constance Bateman
• Jason Flemyng as Guy Berger
• Natalie Dormer as Olga
• Ahmed Ahmed as Nasser
• Habib Ghuloom as Faisal's Father
• Jaaved Jaffrey as Suresh Khan
• David Chant as Senior Flight Officer