Dubai  - The fifth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival began late Thursday with the screening of US filmmaker Oliver Stone's biopic W.

"I hope many people in the Middle East and in South East Asia see it and understand how George Bush came to be and who he is, and understand that the US is not an enemy," Stone said at a press conference in Dubai ahead of the ceremony.

W depicts US President George W Bush's administration's conduct of the war on Iraq, which has aroused anti-US sentiment among many people in the Middle East.

Stone slammed Bush saying he is "not a nice man", who has "a giant ego and arrogance. I empathize with him, but I don't sympathize with him."

Other celebrities, such as Ben Affleck and Danny Glover topped a long list of celebrities who lined up the red carpet in the glitzy Gulf emirate.

As 63-year-old actress Goldie Hawn arrived at the ceremony with her white floral dress, she drew huge applause from the spectators who were standing at the luxury beachside resort Madinat Jumeirah to catch a glimpse of the guests.

Bollywood stars Deepa Mehta, Preity Zinta, and Dilip Mehta also arrived to the Middle East premiere of W.

Terry Gilliam, a US-born British filmmaker, is being honoured by the festival this year for his lifetime achievement. The 68-year-old writer and animator has directed well-regarded films including Twelve Monkeys (1995) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).

More than 180 films from 66 different countries will be screened at the Dubai festival, which ends on December 18.

Award-winning filmmaker Jean-Luc Ayach's Souvenirs D'Alger (From Algiers with Love); Lyes Salem's Mascarades, which won the Best Arabic Film at the Cairo International Film Festival last month; and Baz Luhrmann's Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, are among the festival's highly anticipated films.

On Friday, a charity event will be held to raise money for the American Foundation for Aids Research (amFAR). On December 17, the festival will feature an open day for aspiring filmmakers to learn secrets about the industry and how to break into it.

The festival is one of Dubai's attempts to become a tourist attraction in the region. It also aims to be the main production hub, competing with fellow emirate Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates which launched its own film festival last year.

Dubai also attempts to compete with the Egyptian capital, Cairo dubbed the Hollywood of the Middle East, and which hosted its own festival last month. (dpa)