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Dubai film festival set as launch-pad for filmmakers |
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 The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has taken on a new role as a film market and training ground for Arab filmmakers. Dubai Film Connection, the new initiative spearheaded by DIFF’s industry office, will include a project market, a producer’s training program, and a screenwriting master’s class.
“The Dubai Film Connection premiering this year is the first feature-film project market in the UAE,” says their press release, “committed to bridging cultures by bringing international film professionals into contact with the Arab filmmaking community.” The new project market will connect Arab filmmakers to distributors for funding, and has received over 100 recommendations from 18 countries to date.
DIFF has teamed with the Cannes Producers Network to award the top three winning producers $15,000 and a trip to the Network’s annual conference. An international panel of filmmakers will select ten projects by Arab filmmakers considered to be in “an advanced stage of development.” Leading film companies will have a say in the selection process, including Saudi-owned ART, Egypt’s Good News Group, Jordan’s Royal Film Commission, and America’s Sundance Institute.
The producers training program will offer courses created by the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) on script development, budgeting, legal issues, and marketing and distribution. Showtime Arabia is sponsoring a first-of-its-kind master’s class in comedy writing. Renowned makeup company MAC will also offer production makeup workshops.
The Dubai International Film Festival will screen features, short films, and documentaries from around the world beginning
December 9 through December 16. |
