Now that everybody knows why I like film festivals, this is my programme for Durban. As the city is so big and the venues far apart, I have to close my eyes and miss some excellent films such as Baaria, The Concert, Lebanon, Loose cannons, Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll and A woman, gun and noodle shop. Luckily Baaria, The concert and A woman, gun and noodle shop will be released on the SA art film circuit soon.
The films in Durban cover a huge array with themes such as Ecolens, Wavescap...
Hello out there!
This is my first entry for my trip to the 31st Durban International Film Festival. The festival kicks off with the world premiere of the SA film, State of Violence, on Thursday 22 July. I'll be in Durban from 28 July till the end of the festival on 1 August. More about my programme and what's to offer at DIFF in my next blog entry. First I have to thank the organisers for allowing me, a small-town journo, to travel to their city and attend their esteemed event. This wil...
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...
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) 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 conference on the new Drake International Film Festival at the Italian pavilion started, as all real Italian conferences should, about forty-five minutes late. That’s not to say, however, that the press members in attendance were not entertained. On the contrary, representatives from the festival, including the president, Francesco De Lorenzo himself, sat around the small pavilion area with the attendees, answering questions about the brochures covered in beautiful pictur...
