Runway 34, Review: Plane truth Yes, the film is about an aircraft, and a pilot’s attempt to land against all odds on Runway 34. But that is exactly half the story. The film has no action whatsoever, not even a single blow, and it is not even about hijacking. A married man, with a young daughter, is piloting a plane with 150 persons on board, when it hits rough weather. How he manages to avoid disaster constitutes the portion before the intermission. Next appears a much feared man who is...

Children's International Film Festival, Dubai 2014 is accepting entries from International Filmmakers for the festival that is aimed at pleasing the toughest audience out there-chidlren! The LAST DATE for submission is 15th November, 2013. Visit www.ciff.ae for more information and submit your wonderful film(s)   ...

Industry buyers at DIFF will have one of the strongest repertoires of films to choose from including 103 films screened at DIFF, 43 films from the Gulf Film Festival, and 78 Filmmart-recommended films. The line-up includes 23 world premieres, 6 international Premieres, 37 Middle East premieres, and 21 GCC premieres. Ziad Yaghi, Director, Dubai Filmmart, said the trading and distribution platform has grown considerably over the past years by successfully accomplishing distribution deals fo...

Screening on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 10 pm at Cinestar 9, Mall of the Emirates (MoE), is director Shuchen Tan’s ‘Baghdad Film School.’ The film is about Iraqi born filmmakers Maysoon Pachachi and Kasim Abid who developed the challenging idea to open up the first independent film school in Iraq. With a car loaded with video equipment, they undertook their dangerous journey from Amman to Baghdad and in March 2004 they opened up the doors of their school. Their mission was to give a voice to ...

The recent partnership between Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), leading festival in the Arab world, Asia and Africa, and Beirut DC, a Lebanon based organization focused on encouraging independent filmmaking, hopes to foster local documentary filmmaking skills and production.  According to "The Hollywood Reporter: The Daily Cannes," DIFF will be contributing $10,000 towards Beirut DC's Documentary Course, the goal of which is to motivate young people who wish to pursue profe...

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. ...

28 prizes presented for acting and cinematic excellence The sixth edition of Dubai International Film Festival concluded on Wednesday night with a glittering award ceremony that honoured the finest acting and cinematic talent from the Arab world, Asia and Africa at the Muhr Arab and Muhr AsiaAfrica awards. In all, 28 prizes were distributed for excellence in acting, cinematography, editing, music and scriptwriting in addition to the jury general excellence awards. The entries were f...

Thefifth Dubai International Film Festival held in December 2008 introduced animportant new component, the Dubai Film Market.  To date Dubai has been among theEmirates the fastest growing tourist and business destination and has investedbillions of dollars into establishing a state of the art communications andmedia infrastructure. This includes a film sector for which the Dubai FilmFestival and the Dubai Film Market are essential ingredients, not to speak ofthe imminent opening in Dubai of th...

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today announced the conclusion of its successful ‘OneMinutesJr’ video production workshop for youth in Mumbai, with plans for future sessions in Dubai and Cairo, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Participants at the 5-day workshops received guidance in camera skills, shot and sound choices, story development and basic editing.The result is a collection of 60-second videos by artists of ages 12-20, showing the needs...

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today introduced its new initiative, ‘The Scene: Your UAE Film Network,’ a series of monthly screenings at the DUCTAC auditorium at Mall of the Emirates, facilitated by UAE National filmmaker Nayla al Khaja. The first screening will be held November 30, and will showcase three award-winning films by Arab filmmakers. The series is dedicated to films that have not been commercially released in the UAE.  Director and producer al Khaja, whose short f...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The Dubai International Film Festival (DI...

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has introduced a number of new initiatives for its Industry Office, including a Project Market, a producer's training program, and a screenwriting master class.   Under the guidance of Associate Director Jane Williams (industry consultant for reputed organizations such as Cinemart and  The European Commission), the DIFF Industry Office has been designed to provide a platform for information exchange and share of best practice between Arab f...

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is offering UAE resident sculptors the chance to gain international recognition by shaping and crafting the new prize trophy for the annual Muhr Awards for Excellence in Arab Cinema. ‘Muhr’ means young horse in Arabic, and represents the nobility, spirit and rich Arabian heritage of the region. The chosen design must reflect a theme of excellence in film, and convey strength and creativity.DIFF’s Artistic Director and Coordinator General of the ...

As the countdown for the fourth Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) begins, organizers are seeking a temporary workforce to assist in operational aspects of the festival. To this end, DIFF will hold a job fair on Sunday, 2nd September, 2007 from 10am to 8pm at Dubai Knowledge Village. Over 200 temporary staff are needed in such vital areas as the Industry Office, Box Office and Customer Service, accreditation & registration, theatre operations and marketing, all of which offer an opport...

The Dubai International Film Festival today announced the appointment of Masoud Amralla Al Ali as the Festival Artistic Director. In his new capacity, Al Ali will oversee the programming for the festival that comprises films from Arab and international filmmakers. He will be ably assisted by a qualified team of programmers and colleague, Simon Field, the Director for International Programming. A UAE National, Al Ali was the Artistic Director of the UAE Cultural Foundation and the founder of the ...

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today facilitated a talk with Dubai-based filmmaker Ali Faisal Mustafa, as part of a community outreach initiative to demystify cinema for young people and inspire them to pursue careers in the creative arts.The workshop was organized as a part of the activities for the Kids Press Club, Dubai Press Club’s annual summer camp for kids.Mustafa’s short film “Under the Sun” screened at DIFF 2005 and won the Emirates Film Competition in 2006. It has...

America-wide newspaper USA Today has cited the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in a recent expose entitled, “Where in the World are the Hottest Film Fests?” DIFF ranked along with industry giants such as Sundance, the biggest independent festival in North America, and Cannes, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.The article pointed to the importance of DIFF’s mandate to bring people together in the Middle East to share cultural differences, and complimented its spirit a...

Three leading Arab film festivals today agreed that the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) will chair the proposed Arab Film Festival Guild, the first of its kind in the Arab world. The purpose of the proposed guild is to increase cooperation and exchange of expertise between festivals in everything from selection of stars to programming, position the Arab film industry internationally, and coordinate with international festivals to increase the presence of Arab films. Bi-annual meetings w...

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today announced that the second annual Muhr Awards for Excellence in Arab Cinema is now open, and will be accepting submissions until 31st August 2007. As part of the festival’s mandate of promoting Arab cinema, winners in three categories—feature films, shorts and documentaries—will receive handsome prizes that amount to over AED 1 million.Competing films must be made by a director of Arab nationality or origin, and the subject and storyline of...