The 3rd edition of the Children's International Film Festival inspires the young generation again in Dubai this week

Bringing movies made by children, for children

Dubai, UAE: Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Culture, Youth & Community Development of the UAE, the 3rd edition of The Children’s International Film Festival (CIFF) 2016 has been officially announced today. With Dubai Film and TV Commission (DFTC) as a strategic partner, the CIFF2016, is powered by Nikon, and is presented in association with VOX Cinemas.

This year, CIFF2016 will take place at VOX Cinemas across the UAE from 28th April, 2016 to 7th May, 2016. The 10-day long festival will feature 117 age- appropriate films. Over 1,156 short, feature & documentary films from 66 countries in 55 languages have been submitted by international filmmakers, compared to 410 films submitted last year. The significant increases in submissions reflect a huge growth of 64% which highlights the great success of the festival. 56 of these international films will be screened in the festival.

“We are pleased to present the 3rd edition of Children’s International Film Festival. This is yet another special edition with 117 films from 66 countries in 55 languages, including 61 films 'Made in UAE' by students. The film selection includes, Boy & The World; an Oscar 2016 nominated film, My Friend Raffi; an award winning German film amongst several others. Kids and their families are all set to have lots of fun, film & popcorn!” Said Ms. Jyoti Jain, Founder & Director of CIFF.

More than 160 local short-films have been produced in a span of five (5) months by UAE School students aged 12 to 17 years. Of these, 134 films were submitted to CIFF2016. And of these, 61 short-films will be screened in the cinemas during the festival.

Jyoti Jain added: “We are very proud to announce that like last year, films ‘Made in UAE’ by students were screened at several film festivals across the world and two of these won International Awards in Australia. The Good Side Of Bad; a film by Jumeirah English Speaking School, Dubai won the Best Camera Operation by a Child and Mindbender; a film by Kings’ School – Al Barsha, Dubai won the Best Editing by a Child, at KidzFlicks, Sydney.”, she added.

To top off the exciting news, the three winning “Made in UAE” by student films from CIFF2016 will enter seven (7) other Children’s Film Festivals held in Paris (France), Seattle (USA), Bologna (Italy), Valencia (Spain), Plasencia (Spain), Nairobi (Kenya), Sydney (Australia) and gain recognition at International level. Additionally, 35 awards will be given out at the festival – an increase over 26 from last year.

Commenting, Jamal Al Sharif, Chairman of Dubai Film and TV Commission (DFTC) and Managing Director of Dubai Studio City (DSC) said;

“Our partnership with CIFF2016 for the third consecutive year is an excellent opportunity for us to support the young and upcoming talent in the UAE. The overwhelming response we received this year is a pure testament to Dubai’s growth into a thriving film and production hub. DFTC is committed to supporting the growth of media and production ecosystem here in Dubai, and we welcome and encourage the creation of initiatives and platforms to support the next generation, and foster innovation and creativity.
Commenting, Mr. Narendra Menon, Regional Head – Sales & Marketing - Nikon Middle East, said:

 “Photography & Videography today is not just synonymous with professionals; everyone around us is taking pictures and capturing moments. We believe that it is a great activity, which cultivates talent and creativity, and can be taken up as a hobby from a very young age. A platform like CIFF enables our youth to tap into their imagination and weave extraordinary stories for the world to see.”

He added: “We are committed to nurturing local talent by providing mentorship and coaching at every level and it gives us immense joy to be able to start with children as young as these. Participating with CIFF gives us all at Nikon School a tremendous sense of fulfillment, which is probably the reason we keep coming back each year” added Tarek Abdelrahman (Regional Head of Customer Service, Nikon Middle East & Africa).

The main objective behind CIFF2016 is to encourage and nurture young filmmaking talent in the UAE and to enhance film, media and ICT literacy in emerging talents. To achieve this, the CIFF team conducted over 15 complimentary filmmaking workshops for 800 students across the UAE to educate and tickle the interests of these young filmmakers, among those were many participants at CIFF 2016. The Festival this year is engaging 25,000 children with an estimate of 5000+ families in 5 Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah & Fujairah) have registered to be part in this year’s festival.