Dubai International Film Festival opens registration for 11th edition

Dubai (WAM): The Dubai International Film Festival, DIFF, announced yesterday that registration for the 11th edition of the festival is now open for media, industry professionals and students. This year’s edition of DIFF will run from December 10th-17th. DIFF celebrates the best of Arab and international cinema each year, with red carpet premieres, daily gala screenings, a variety of community and family-oriented events, industry workshops and informative panel discussions. DIFF’s programme is carefully curated to comprise a mix of enlightening documentaries, inspiring independent films, the best in children’s cinema, crowd-pleasing blockbusters and standout Emirati and Arab films. The Dubai Film Market, DFM, the industry arm of DIFF, continues to support filmmakers by offering a hub for Arab cinema and the ultimate destination for the sale and acquisition of Arab films and TV content. This year’s edition will bring the MENA region’s key industry players under one roof. Attended by over 1,800 industry delegates from 81 countries last year, the DFM offers a series of engaging and educational workshops and panel discussions, with special talks that are open to students, the media and the public. Cinetech, DFM’s video library and digital acquisition platform, will give buyers and sellers more flexible ways to view films and reach out to their rights holders. Each year, DIFF also provides over 700 students and residents, who are passionate about the cinema industry, with an unrivalled opportunity to be part of the festival through volunteering their services. Shivani Pandya, DIFF Managing-Director, said, "The 11th edition of DIFF will be an eight-day festival of the year’s most distinguished Arab and international films, inspiring discussions with filmmakers and critics, as well as a multitude of industry and community events celebrating the art of cinema. The region’s filmmaking community will benefit from new initiatives such as the Dubai Distribution Programme, which secures distribution for selected Arab titles from DIFF’s 2014 film programme. We are looking forward to welcoming back filmmakers and filmgoers, and meeting with those who are going to be part of the festival for the first time this year." – Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395269745842.html