Renowned actor Colin Firth, the star of the opening film of the seventh Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), The King’s Speech, interacted with visitors to the festival at the ‘In Conversation’ session. It followed the actor being presented with the Variety ‘International Star of the Year’ Award today (Monday, Dec. 13) at the First Group Theatre, Madinat Jumeirah, from 4 to 5pm.
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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...
The award introduced in 2009, is aimed at encouraging and promoting films that address human rights issues. At DIFF 2010, 10 films will vie for the honours.
Judging the submissions for the HRFN award is Kebour Genna of the Addis International Film Festival; Taco Ruighaver, Director, the Movies that Matter Festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Syrian filmmaker Sawsan Darwaza, whose films depict the harsh realities of life in strife-torn areas of the Middle East yet with a powerful messag...
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 ...
Colin Firth interacted with public at ‘In Conversation' session at DIFF 2010Renowned actor Colin Firth, the star of the opening film of the seventh Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), The King’s Speech, interacted with visitors to the festival at the ‘In Conversation’ session. It followed the actor being presented with the Variety ‘International Star of the Year’ Award (Monday, Dec. 13) at the First Group Theatre, Madinat Jumeirah. Shivani Pandya, DIFF Managing Director, sai...
Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise on the sites. Our newsletter reaches 82 000 film professionnals every week. _______________________________________ FESTIVAL NEWS FROM THE CIRCUIT Masterclass with Apichatpong Weerasethakul at Thessaloniki This year's winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival...
The Dubai International Film Festival today named American film icon and international social and political activist Sean Penn as its Western honouree for 2010. Penn, whose career spans nearly three decades, more than 45 films and notable successes as producer, director, actor and screenwriter, will accept the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Festival’s opening ceremony on December 12, 2010. Announcing the award at the curtain-raiser press conference for DIFF 2010, Festival Chairman Abdu...
Richard J. Fox
Executive Vice President,
Warner Bros. Entertainment International
A highly respected member of the international film community, Richard Fox serves as
Executive Vice President, International, Warner Bros Entertainment. A 35-year company
veteran, he works closely with Warner Bros.' senior management to develop
opportunities emerging from the company's international growth to expand newly
acquired business...
............. WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 485: November 19, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise on the sites. Our newsletter reaches 82 000 film professio...
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards has unveiled the International Jury members who will join previously announced President, Lord David Puttnam, for the fourth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards to be held on the Gold Coast, Australia, on December 2.
Lord David Puttnam, Academy Award winner and producer of Chariots of Fire, The Mission and The Killing Fields, has assembled a Jury of highly experienced industry professionals from across the globe. They are:
...
............. WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 484: November 11, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise on the sites. Our newsletter reaches 82 000 film professio...
Tron: Legacy, a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital universe and boasting some of the most spectacular visuals in recent cinema, will be the closing gala film of the Dubai International Film Festival 2010. Disney’s long-awaited, stand-alone follow-up to its 1982 classic Tron will screen at DIFF on December 18, 2010, a day after its release in the United States and Canada. Tron: Legacy continues DIFF’s practice of integrating major 3D films into the Festival and its tradition of closing w...
............. WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 482: October 28, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise on the sites. Our newsletter reaches 82 000 film profession...
Festival Grand Prix for the Best Feature
THE TAQWACORES
Director: Eyad Zahra
Eyad Zahra graduated Magna Cum Lade in 2004 from the Florida State University School of Motion Picture, Television, & the Record- ing Arts. Since 2005, Mr.Zahra has produced various short films and television segments. Working briefly in Dubai, U.A.E., Mr. Zahra produced TV promotion segments for the largest television network in the Middle ...
«Pacific Meridian» is an International Film Festival of Asian Pacific Countries. Asian-Pacific Coutries are the countries surrounded by Pacific Ocean and countries of South-East Asia including India. Film Festival is held annually in one of the most beautiful places on the Pacific Ocean coast - Vladivostok. The Festival was instituted in 2003 and its 8th edition has been held this year, September 11 - 17.Vladivostok is a very beautiful and exciting city, place on the hills. Three sides of it a...
............. WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 477: September 20, 2010 THE SUMMER WRAP NEWSLETTER Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise on the sites. Our newsletter...
Director: JUAN PABLO ETCHEVERRY.
THE BIGGEST FLOWER IN THE WORLD is a text of rare beauty, full of symbols and enigmas, for children who grow up in a world split by individualism, where there is no hope and violence and lack of ideals are the norm. There are two messages, one for the children (discovery, bravery and altruism) and another for all men and women who ask themselves about their place in the world.
The Toronto International Film Festival has become one of the prime meeting places for film professionals from all over the map. So, not only are films seen, bought and sold, but the Festival is also an important place to make important new announcements about upcoming productions and initiatives.
Therefore, it was completely appropriate that the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), the largest and most ambitious film event in the Middle East, use the Toronto setting to m...
Egypt's exemplary avant-garde director Ahmad Abdalla's new film Micriphone (2010) will be featured at this year's TIFF.
Below is the latest from the makers of Microphone:
Almost the same bunch of independent film makers and fighters against the local commercial loud scene...
creators of "Heliopolis" (2009) made "Microphone"
They just printed their first 35mm print one week ago, and are very excited...
One of my favorite films this year that I couldn't wait to see since first learning about it at the 2010 Taormina Film Festival was The Circle (2009) by the young and up and coming director Nawaf Al-Janahi from Abu Dhabi. Born on the same year and only four days after me, I have to admit my pride to be a '77 aquarian when seeing such greatness. The Circle left me in deep contemplation about life and indeed as soon as it ended, I found myself watching it immediately a second time. Here to speak w...
I have arrived yesterday 28 July and what a day it was! Flying in from Johannesburg was memorable as I saw two South African singing sensations making out at the drop-off. They can be compared to Bollywood stars as they have just starred in a local film together called Jakhalsdans where they fell in love on the set! It was something to behold to see thse two kissing as they would have been arrested in places like Dubai. The flight down - just under 50 mins - was routine and then Durban hit me...
Director: DAVID MUNOZ.
Migration can provide hope for escaping poverty. Yet many migrants know about the other side of that hope - suffering. Leaving behind their homes and families they submit themselves to the mercy of middlemen at home and employers in distant countries. Tens of thousands become indebted and impoverished as a consequence. This film tells the story of three men from the rural village of Rajbari, Bangladesh who travelled to Dubai.
Sorry to have not been quicker at continuing the events of the rest of the shoot but we have had a couple of happenings. I am now working for a Production and repping company in Dubai, we shall see how it goes, and Toby is working on a TV show so been busy with getting things together. As well as, of course, concentrating on our own work but at the momenth that involves making DVDs, covers and sending them off to various parts of the world. You might think that it wouldn't take up too mu...
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...
At his year´s 7th festival, DOCUMENTA MADIRD is offering broad programming in it´s parallel sections, including a series entitled "USA INDEPENDENTS" retrospectives of three filmmakers -Peter Hutton, Ben Russell and Joseph Strick- who have left their mark on recent history for their creative and revolutionary visions of the genre.
Peter Hutton has been a crucial figure in American documentary and experimental film for forty years. Hutton is the last link in the Nort...
