The 30th annual Vancouver International Film Festival concluded its 16-day run on Friday, October 14th. The winners of two juried awards, and five audience awards were announced prior to the screening of The Kid With a Bike by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne at the Visa Screening Room at The Vogue. The Dragons and Tigers Award was announced previously. JURIED AWARDS The Canadian Images jury announced two awards. The jury included Beth Barrett, program manager of the Seattle International Film F...
The 30th annual Vancouver International Film Festival concluded its 16-day run on Friday, October 14th. The winners of two juried awards, and five audience awards were announced prior to the screening of The Kid With a Bike by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne at the Visa Screening Room at The Vogue. The Dragons and Tigers Award was announced previously.
JURIED AWARDS
The Canadian Images jury announced two awards. The jury included Beth Barrett, program manager of the Seattle Inter...
The Sun-Beaten Path Wins VIFF Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema The Vancouver International Film Festival is pleased to announce that The Sun-Beaten Path directed by Tibetan director Sonthar GYAL from China has won the 18th annual Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema and a cash prize of $10,000. The winner was announced prior to the Dragons & Tigers Award Gala screening of ISHII Yuya's MITSUKO DELIVERS in the Visa Screening Room at the Vogue Theatre today. Do...
Berlinale: European Film Market, Interview with Director Beki Probst. In 1988 Beki Probst was appointed Director of the Film Fair for the Berlinale which she then renamed European Film Market. Her prior experience includes work for the Locarno Film Festival and representation of the Berlinale in Turkey and Greece. Beki Probst was born in Istanbul and studied law and journalism.Her twenty year direction resulted in the constant expansion of the European Film Market and its transformation into...
As noted in our February 4th write up, setting up the first regional film market is part of a comprehensive strategy by the Emirate of Dubai to create a sophisticated media infrastructure. It includes dating Dubai media city for electronic and print media with 1300 mostly foreign companies; Dubai Internet City; the International Media Production Zone; Dubai Studio City housing the biggest and technologically most advanced studio facility in the Middle East; and the five year old Dubai Internatio...
Dubai Film MarketThe fifth Dubai International Film Festival held in December 2008 introduced an important new component, the Dubai Film Market. To date Dubai has been among the Emirates the fastest growing tourist and business destination and has invested billions of dollars into establishing a state of the art communications and media infrastructure. This includes a film sector for which the Dubai Film Festival and the Dubai Film Market are essential ingredients, not to speak of the immin...
Held from December 11th-18th in Dubai’s luxurious Madinat Jemeirah’s conference center embedded in an upscale tourist resort with screening in other venues, the Dubai film festival is racing to be number one in the region. Catering to about 750 official participants who attended as guests and numerous other professionals, the program featured 181 films from 66 countries. More than 20 well attended industry events and panels were held ranging from marketing and distribution issues to cas...
French-born Catherine Buresi became the new Deputy Director of the Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM) on September 1, 2008. She succeeds Karen Arikian, who became Executive Director of the Hamptons International Film Festival in March 2008.“I am happy to welcome Catherine Buresi to the EFM team and continuing to develop the EFM together with her”, comments EFM Director Beki Probst.Catherine Buresi has been working in the international media and film industry for almost 20 years. From 1...
Friday, March 7--------It was an evening that could only take place in Miami…the Festival welcomed Grammy-winning producer Emilio Estefan, singing superstar Gloria Estefan and an assembly of rich Latin musical talents for the North American Premiere of 90 MILES THE DOCUMENTARY at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts.The film, a “labor of love,” chronicles the contributions of legendary and contemporary Latino musicians in the creation of Gloria Estefan’s landmark album 90 MILES. T...
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today announced its new initiative ‘Rhythm and Reels’ presented by Dubai Pearl. The three-day event during DIFF 2007 will bring unusual and cutting-edge film together with live musical performances; the festival has introduced the open-air series at the Dubai Media City amphitheatre to celebrate the mutually enriching relationship between film and music.The first screening, to be held on December 13, 2007, will bring 5-time Grammy Award-winning ...
Bosta (Autobus), the third of five free family films being screened at the giant purpose-built amphitheatre at Dubai Media City during the ongoing Dubai Film Festival, is a fun and upbeat story of what happens when modern and alternative ideas clash with the traditional Dabkeh dance of Lebanon. The film, which will make its UAE premiere at the amphitheatre at 8pm on Wednesday, December 14, follows the story of Kamal, who returns to Beirut after 15 years of exile in France determined to revive hi...
The Dubai International Film Festival announced the silver sponsors of DIFF 2005 – Filmworks, Motivate Publishing and Sony. The three silver sponsors, who make up the third tier of corporate participation in DIFF, are from a variety of media-related backgrounds from film production and publishing to technology providers. Festival Director and CEO Neil Stephenson said the DIFF management team was pleased to receive such enthusiastic participation and support from dynamic local companies.“We a...
Dubai Film Festival a Vital Platform in Improving Portrayal of Arabs, Muslims in Mainstream Cinema, Says US ExpertNegative stereotypes unchanged since 9/11, according to Arab-American scholar Dubai, December 5, 2005 – The Dubai International Film Festival can play an integral role in shattering the negative stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims that permeate mainstream American cinema, the world’s leading authority on media stereotyping of Arabs and Muslims has said. Dr. Jack Shaheen, author of t...
Organizers Deliver on Promise of Bigger, Better Second Dubai International Film Festival: DIFF team announces 6 world premieres Seven days, 98 films from 46 countries and a galaxy of the film elite from the Arab world, Asia, Europe and the Americas – the building blocks of the second Dubai International Film Festival generated much excitement today when Festival organizers unveiled the entire 2005 line-up for the first time at DIFF epicenter Madinat Jumeirah. Building rapidly on the success of...
In line with the ‘Cultural Bridge’ theme of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), multi-award winning helmer Albert Brooks’ LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD has been selected to have its world premiere in Dubai on December 15, 2005, as part of the festival’s second edition. DIFF will take place from December 11 – 17, 2005. The comedy will be screened in DIFF’s flagship “Operation Cultural Bridge” section, which underlines the event’s objectives to build cultural b...
The first Dubai International Film Festival [DIFF] is being organized by the Dubai Media City and will start on Monday December 6th and end on the evening of Saturday December 11th 2004. The festival will feature 80 films, which include 55 main features, 10 sidebar screenings and 15 Arab short films, which will showcase contemporary and classic global cinema. The main venue of the Dubai Film Festival will be the new Madinat Jumeirah, The Arabian Resort of Dubai, but other screenings will take pl...