The eighth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), has received more than 1,760 film entries from 106 nations for its 2011 edition. Of those, more than 1,000 short films, documentaries and feature films were submitted for the festivals flagship Muhr Emirati, Muhr Arab and Muhr Asia Africa competitions; the remainder for DIFFs multiple […]
The eighth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), has received more than 1,760 film entries from 106 nations for its 2011 edition.
Of those, more than 1,000 short films, documentaries and feature films were submitted for the festivals flagship Muhr Emirati, Muhr Arab and Muhr Asia Africa competitions; the remainder for DIFFs multiple out of competition segments.
Entries from India dominate the list at 160 followed by France (109); Iran (106), Egypt (91), the United States (87), the United Arab Emirates (71) and Lebanon (58).Germany, Palestine, South Korea and Palestine are also well represented, with more than 45 submissions each;Morocco(48) and Tunisia(34), among others.
Film entries have arrived from diverse film markets including France, USA, South Korea, and China to emerging markets including Mali, Ghana, Cameroon, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia. Chile and Venezuela are also represented, highlighting the festivals growing footprint in South America.
Closer to home, the festival has also received multiple entries from Syria and Libya, as well as a large selection of cinema that reflects the Arab Spring, captured by filmmakers in Tunisia and Egypt.
Films shortlisted for the Muhr competitions will vie for over 36 awards and more than US$600,000 in prize money, in addition to valuable industry connections. They will also be eligible for a variety of prestigious global awards including the FIPRESCI International Prize of the Critics Award, the Human Rights Film Network Award and the Peoples Choice Award.
Speaking about Muhr Masoud Amralla Al Ali, artistic director, Dubai International Film Festival, pointed out: The Muhr Awards underlines DIFFs mandate to promote the growing pool of cinema talent in the Arab world, near Asia and Africa. The strong response to our call for entries highlights the growing global interest in DIFFs ability to open doors for filmmakers to a global audience. Over the past years, Muhr Award winners have gone on to win international recognition, contributing to a surge in Arab, African and near Asian filmmaking.
