Last month was super busy with the Summit and Awards so Im so grateful that the Christmas season is almost upon us and I have no complaints at all about tired feet or wearing my shoes out shopping. Its so much more joyful to enter this season knowing that we have had the most successful […]
Last month was super busy with the Summit and Awards so Im so grateful that the Christmas season is almost upon us and I have no complaints at all about tired feet or wearing my shoes out shopping.
Its so much more joyful to enter this season knowing that we have had the most successful conference and awards event yet. The hardest part of the conference has always been securing good speakers but here again, Im thankful for the mix of speakers we had at this years event. While it is always important to open the platform out to new players who have made a mark for themselves in this market, it is equally crucial to have veterans join us, for it is this mix that has made the panels vibrant and successful.
Some of the numbers we heard both during the keynote and the panel discussions were staggering and a reminder that this region is hotting up. But I won’t dwell long on the summit or the awards here as we have dedicated a substantial number of pages to the event elaborating on some of the key points discussed there.
For me, the Summit and Awards for 2015 already seems long gone and December ushers in another exciting edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).
One of the themes that continue to recur at many of these events, be it at our Summit or at DIFF, is the dire need for more quality Arabic content. It was distressing to hear that at last Ramadan, more than 100 drama productions were made in the region but 25 of them never even made it to the screen and very few actually appealed to viewers.
But fear not! It’s not all bleak. We do have some exciting productions on the horizon. Zinzana will be screened at DIFF and I look forward to seeing it. We have also heard as we were going to press that some local players will be pitching to Netflix during DIFF. If the international OTT platform sees some good scripts and talent here, they intend to come over for some serious shooting.
I’ll be at DIFF. If you will be there, do say hello! Otherwise, see you in the New Year!
