DIFF confirms dates for 2012

The ninth Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) will be held from December 9-16, 2012.

The event dates were confirmed at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, which is currently taking place.

More than four of the DIFF 2011-supported films, including Death for Sale by Morocco’s Faouz Bensaidi; DIFF-award winner The Last Friday by Jordan’s Yahya Alabdallah, Gate #5 by Lebanon’s Simon El Habre; and The Rif Lover by Morocco’s Narjiss Nejjar are currently at the 62nd Berlinale, one of the world’s leading festivals. The latter three films were supported by the Dubai Film Market’s post-production support programme, Enjaaz; the first by its co-production market, Dubai Film Connection.

Other films screened at DIFF, including Egypt’s ½ Revolution and Palestine’s Cinema Jenin, are also included in the festival’s Panorama, Forum or European Film Market sections.

The Festival also awarded more than US$600,000 to filmmakers from the UAE, the Arab world, Asia and Africa via its competitions, in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars in co-production and post-production support to Arab filmmakers via its Dubai Film Market components.

 “Ultimately, our biggest achievement across the years is in increasing awareness of and access to Arab cinema at home and abroad, while simultaneously developing its talent and its product to ensure its sustained future. This is what we set out to achieve almost 10 years ago, and we are proud to witness exponential success year on year,” said Festival chairman Abdulhamid Juma.

“In the less than two months after the close of DIFF 2011, we are delighted to see our films and filmmakers catapulting to world-renowned events and festivals including Sundance, Palm Springs, Rotterdam, the Academy Awards and Berlin. We are also continually receiving news on acquisitions and sales deals initiated during our Festival from all markets, as well as positive feedback from around the world. We’ve already started working towards an even better 9th and 10th edition.”

DIFF 2011 sold more than 50,000 tickets and screened 171 films from over 56 nations. The Festival opened in unforgettable style with the premiere of Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, attended by the film’s headlining stars including Tom Cruise. Festival red carpet gala screenings also spanned Indian, Egyptian, German, French and American titles including Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, The Muppets, Terraferma, My Week with Marilyn, A Whole One, Three Quarter Moon and The Descendants.