Dubai film market ‘explodes' 2012 networking figures

International and regional film professionals at the Dubai Film Market, the industry arm of the festival, meet and make deals

Dubai, December 7, 2013: Organizers announced today that the Dubai Film Market, the industry platform that runs alongside the tenth annual Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has already exceeded all records set in previous years in terms of requested meetings between attending film professionals, days before the festival is set to start.

The Dubai Film Connection, DIFF's project market, which matches projects originating in the Arab world with international funding and production partners, has already attracted 332 pre-booked meetings for its projects, against 271 that were booked during the duration of DIFF 2012. Organizers anticipate that the number will increase by at least 20 per cent during the festival.

DIFF Managing Director Shivani Pandya said: “The Dubai Film Connection meeting figures are a litmus test for the effectiveness of our Dubai Film Market, the purpose of which is to bring together industry professionals from the region with their counterparts from around the world. Over the past ten years we have been steadily designing and implementing initiatives that will help to build the film industry in the UAE and the broader Middle East region, and facilitating international partnerships is a core part of that mission. The results of the meetings at the Dubai Film Market will hopefully be seen in innovative new films at future editions of DIFF.”

Samr Marzooqi, Manager of Dubai Film Market, expanded on what the figures mean for the festival: “The Dubai Film Connection is a major part of the Dubai Film Market activity, but these numbers represent only the officially booked meetings. There are hundreds of film professionals attending the seminars and networking events over the week at DIFF, and they are able to reach out to each other directly through our special market guide and by word of mouth introductions. This means that in reality there are thousands of meetings taking place at the festival grounds. It is a hive of activity every year, and this year promises to be the most active yet.”

DIFF 2013 is the festival's decennial edition. Information on the Dubai Film Market, the DFC projects, and seminar timings can be found on the festival website on www.dubaifilmfest.com.