"Your country is very different from mine," said Bosnian filmmaker Aida Begic while introducing her debut feature, "Snow" (Snijeg) at Dubai's chic and massive Mall of the Emirates, one of DIFF's main screening venues. Begic's film, which won the top prize at Critics Week in May at the Festival de Cannes, offered up a contrasting world compared to the festival venue's huge assortment of top end European and American retailers, including Fendi, Harvey Nichols and Calvin Klein. As with many award-winning films from the conflict-torn country, the 1990s war, which resulted in the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, was the backdrop of "Snow," which is Bosnia's submission for best foreign-language Oscar consideration, a coveted prize won in 2002 by fellow compatriot Danis Tanovic's "No Man's Land."