Editor

The seventh edition of the Dubai International Film Festival, the definitive film festival of the Arab world, Asia and Africa, will be held from December 12 to 19, 2010.

The latest edition of the film festival is being planned to showcase an even diverse selection of movies from around the world across a dozen themed segments including Arabian Nights, Gulf Voices, Cinema of the World, Cinema for Children, Cinema of AsiaAfrica, Lifetime Achievement and Cinema from India.

DIFF 2010 will feature the competitive Muhr Arab and Muhr AsiaAfrica programmes offering over US$575,000 in prize money for excellence in acting, cinematography, editing, music and scriptwriting in addition to the jury general excellence awards.

DIFF will expand its partnership with the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) this year for the annual "Prize of the International Critics" to include all three film segments - feature, shorts and documentaries - in the Muhr Arab competition.

DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma explained that the integration of powerful cinema from across the world, celebrity attendance and a host of industry events has given DIFF a leading position in the regional film festival circuit.

"Despite being the final international film festival in any given year, producers and directors are keen to use DIFF as a sounding board to promote their movies to an international audience. Films screened at DIFF continue to make headlines, catalysed by the wide-scale publicity generated from Dubai, a city of over 200 nationalities."

DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said the seventh Dubai International Film Festival will further build on the momentum it has achieved in promoting regional cinema to a global audience.

"Over the past six years, DIFF has achieved its founding objective of encouraging Arab and local filmmaking talent, thus facilitating Arab and local film industry. DIFF 2009 was landmark in showcasing two UAE feature films, one of them with international cast and crew. The 2009 selection demonstrates the vitality of film-making in the Arab world, Asia and Africa and we look forward to showcasing many more artistic splendors at DIFF 2010."

Continuing the trend of promoting Arab film industry, DIFF 2010 will further strengthen its seed fund Dubai Film Connection; the distribution initative Dubai Film Market and regular industry and student workshops.

DIFF 2009 had recorded 50,113 admissions for the 168 films screened ranging from the Hollywood blockbuster Avatar to Zindeeq, the Muhr Arab award winning feature. The event also welcomed celebrities from around the world.

The Dubai Film Connection, the seed fund of the festival, broke previous records with 127 script submissions from Arab-origin film-makers around the world. The industry workshops were well-attended, in addition to the Students Day, which was attended by over 300 students.

DIFF 2009's Dubai Film Market hosted over 3,100 screenings for industry buyers, nearly three times over 2008. Potential industry buyers had a total of 323 films at their fingertips via state-of-the-art touch-screens.

DIFF 2010 will be held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah are the principal sponsors of DIFF.