UAE Star Wars fans out in Force

Emirates Palace loosened its dress code on Wednesday evening after welcoming a group of stormtroopers and Darth Vaders to the regional premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Other guests chose to dress in a more normal fashion, including Italian footballer Alessandro del Piero and American actor Richard Dreyfuss.

All walked down a less-than-classic black carpet, in homage to the film.

After keeping quiet about details of the film, parts of which were shot in the capital, it was a great feeling seeing the final product, said Twofour54 chief executive Noura Al Kaabi.

"I couldn't be more proud for this movie that was filmed in Abu Dhabi by one of my favourite directors, JJ [Abrams].”

Recalling her time on set last year, in the depths of the Liwa desert, Ms Al Kaabi said: "More than 600 people of more than 20 nationalities - alien creatures walking around you, it was beautiful to see. You were in a totally different factory of people feeding people, taking care of people, filming, J J talking to the actors - and the explosions.”

At the screening, celebrities took selfies alongside fans who attended in costume.

Some showed their love for the franchise in a different manner, travelling thousands of kilometres to see the film.

"I came all the way here from Los Angeles for this premiere,” said American visual effects artist Benjamin Bernard, 30, who was sporting a kandura as he proudly waved his lightsabre.

"I'm really excited to see what J J did with the film. Every time he's rebooted a film it's been amazing, so this should be a lot of fun.”

Another Star Wars fanatic, Omar Al Bahati – otherwise known as Commanding Officer of the UAE Outpost, 501st Legion of Stormtroopers – attended with his legion, all dressed for the occasion and busy entertaining the crowds.

Last night allowed the audience to see the role the UAE played in setting the scene.

Seconds into the movie, the camera zoomed into a desert vista, Abu Dhabi having been chosen to portray the desert planet Jakku.

Approximately the first half hour of the film takes place on Jakku, and after the screening, guests got to experience a taste of what life was like on the set of Star Wars when it was filmed in Abu Dhabi, as props and costumes from the original set were placed around the gardens of Emirates Palace to make it resemble Jakku.
Source: The National