The INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SUMMIT (IFFS) is the annual conference and trade show for professionals from the film festival industry. The International Film Festival Summit provides a platform for the community to explore ways to collaborate and promote the advancement of the film festival industry. The IFFS is dedicated to providing resources, information and avenues of communication for industry professionals, vendors, & anyone committed to the film festival industry. It is committed ...
Wednesday, March 5---------In the past number of years, major film festivals around the world has seen it as their mission to not only exhibit the best films available, but also to serve as a breeding ground for new projects to get launched, financed and distributed. To this end, the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) has joined the ranks of such major film festival events as Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Pusan, Dubai and several others, in organizing parallel industry events designed to st...
Taking Film Festivals to the Next Level with a Compelling Program at 2nd Annual International Film Festival Summit (IFFS) EuropeEuropean ProgrammingA dynamic and compelling program is the hallmark of a great film festival. Selecting the right films for your festival and programming considerations will vary depending on location, audience and other factors. Hear from this esteemed panel of festivals what critical factors they take into consideration when programming their festivals.Panelists:Simo...
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:00 am Registration Begins and Networking Breakfast 9:00 am Opening Remarks by Conference ChairFred Kramer President and General Manager Withoutabox 9:15 am European Cinema and the World - Status and Future European film continues to grow and expand across the globe and festivals play a critical role in this process. This exciting session will delve into the current state of Europena cinema and where it's headed. Moderator: David Pope, CEO, New Producers AllianceGrainne ...
The main sections of the event are, - Views of the World: dealing with subjects of social interest. - Portraits-Human Journeys: the human being as the focus of the narrative. - Stories to Tell: brief stories of human interest that stand out both for the nature of their subject and the way it has been dealt with. - Recordings of Memory: Events and people who played a significant role in shaping contemporary life; the tes...
The 10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Organized by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the 10th TDF will present roughly 200 documentaries in the event’s flagship OLYMPION and PAVLOS ZANNAS theatres at the festival headquarters in Aristotelous square, as well as the JOHN CASSAVETES, STAVROS TORNES, FRIDA LIAPPA and TONIA MARKETAKI theatres located at the Thessaloniki harbour, within walking distance from t...
The Kite Runner, the highly anticipated film adaptation of the best-selling novel, directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) will close this year’s prestigious 4th Dubai International Film Festival 2007 on December 16, it was announced today. The closing night event will be attended by author Khaled Hosseini and the film’s key cast including Khalid Abdalla (United 93), Homayoun Ershadi, Zekiria Ebrahami, Ali Danesh Bakhtyari, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada and Sayed Jafar Massi...
Indian film is bursting forth on screens far and wide, as film-makers take advantage of a more globalised world, a spurt in the visibility of local talent, and the possibilities this throws up."The diversity, creative insights and technical virtuosity of Indian cinema are a pageant on world screens in the fall and winter seasons of 2007," says the latest issue of the 'FilmIndia Worldwide'.The magazine has listed a range of Indian films taking part in global festivals during...
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 (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 ...
The Dubai International Film Festival (DI...
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today announced that the critically acclaimed thriller MICHAEL CLAYTON will open this year’s festival. Lead actor George Clooney (Oscar winner Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, Ocean’s 11, 12 & 13) will attend the star-studded Opening Night Gala. Tony Gilroy’s feature film debut draws from the political undertones of the Bourne series to tell the story of Michael Clayton, a corporate lawyer who is increasingly disillusioned with his life as a...
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...
In September the film festival season really heats up with an autumn schedule so jam-packed that it's hard to keep up with all the haps. The "Fall Season" actually starts in late summer when Venice opens, usually during the last days of August. Right on top of that comes Toronto, Deauville, Montreal, San Sebastian and a number of others, such as Gdynia, overlapping and vying for attention. October brings on the new Rome fest which kicked off its inaugural session last year with suc...
In September the film festival season really heats up with an autumn schedule so jam-packed that it's hard to keep up with all the haps. The "Fall Season" actually starts in late summer when Venice opens, usually during the last days of August. Right on top of that comes Toronto, Deauville, Montreal, San Sebastian and a number of others, such as Gdynia, overlapping and vying for attention. October brings on the new Rome fest which kicked off its inaugural session last year with suc...
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...
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...
Tuesday, June 12------RANG DE BASANTI, a politically charged epic set in the 1920s, was the big winner at the International Indian Film Academy Awards, Bollywood's answer to the Oscars, held on Saturday night. The awards, voted on by fans, were handed out in front of an audience of 12,000 enthusiastic fans at Hallam Auditorium in the city of Sheffield, in the North of England. The cream of the Indian film industry gathered for an evening-long pagaent of Bollywood stars, musical performances ...
Thursday, May 3------The power of the individual to right wrongs, bring up issues and to literally move a society a few steps further is a message that one cannot hear enough these days. Such is the amazing story of Pakistani human rights activist Mukhtaran Mai, who drew on her own pain and abuse to become a positive symbol for the fair treatment of women (and all human beings). Her amazing story is recounted in SHAME, a documentary film by Mohammed Naqvi, that had its New York Premiere last eve...
The power of the individual to right wrongs, bring up issues and to literally move a society a few steps further is a message that one cannot hear enough these days. Such is the amazing story of Pakistani human rights activist Mukhtaran Mai, who drew on her own pain and abuse to become a positive symbol for the fair treatment of women (and all human beings). Her amazing story is recounted in SHAME, a documentary film by Mohammed Naqvi, that had its New York Premiere last evening, with the direct...
