All flavours of the world at DIFF

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DIFF closing ceremony

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) 2006 concluded successfully last month. For the first time, DIFF had an Industry Office, an umbrella term used to describe a number of initiatives that paired key industry figures with regional film-makers, brokering new relationships with funding bodies, producers and distributors.

Apart from the fact that 114 films were screened as part of DIFF, some specific initiatives that the Industry Office undertook this year are worthy of mention. An Intensive Workshop for UAE Filmmakers, connected with the Festival’s Emerging Emiratis programming segment, was concluded on the second day of the festival, with round table discussions conducted by industry experts, Ido Abraham and Esther Bannenberg.

The strongest conclusion coming out of the workshop was the need to establish a pool of creative producers in the region,” commented Jane Williams, Industry Office Manager. “The film-making talent is definitely there, and the infrastructure built here within the next few years will be state-of-the-art. After this year’s discussions, we have next year’s goals in mind. The Industry Office will be an annual event designed to implement initiatives that delegates have identified as most pressing,” she adds.

Another project, dubbed the Lebanese Project Presentation initiative, was announced. This initiative, designed in association with Fondation Liban Cinéma (FLC), a non-profit private association that acts to stimulate Lebanese film production, offered five film-makers the opportunity to pitch their projects to a group of international experts.

Major industry figures heading these sessions included Geoff Gilmore of Sundance, Jerome Paillar of the Cannes film festival, Vincenzo Bugno from the World Cinema Fund, and prominent French producer Claudie Ossard.

“DIFF’s mandate is absolutely to stimulate film production in the Arab world, which is why we are now concerned with Lebanon,” stated DIFF managing director, Shivani Pandya. “For the past five years, film production had been on the increase in Lebanon, but now funds that might have flowed to worthy films are being invested in reconstruction. We want to help the FLC keep the industry there running to prevent a drain of talent and infrastructure.”

The five filmmakers pitched their films to five small gatherings of potential financiers, and attended high-level networking events in an effort to solidify mutually beneficial relationships with the international funders, distributors and producers that attended DIFF to do business.

Aimée Boulos, FLC’s President, said, “I am very pleased that we were able to participate this year in DIFF inspite of the tormented situation in Lebanon. It is of high importance for us to testify to our will to the foundations for a fruitful collaboration between FLC & DIFF.”

During the networking forums, exchange was in full swing between filmmakers, producers, distributors, sales companies, exhibitors and international festivals. This activity resulted in at least one distribution deal confirmed thus far — the release of Rachid Bouchareb’s Indigenes into the Middle East market. More details will be available in the coming weeks. Speaking about the success of the Industry Office in promoting these initiatives, Abdulhamid Juma, chairman of DIFF, said: “We are pleased that the Industry Office events directly resulted in a distribution deal for an Arab film—this is precisely the kind of activity our festival aims to promote and stimulate. Over the next weeks, we will also learn more about some of the other activities that took place during DIFF. In the coming years, Dubai will become a hub for all stages of cinema production. We are truly growing in step with the infrastructure to support feature projects, and are paving the way for talented filmmakers to make the GCC film market flourish.”

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