The 9th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), to be held at the end of 2012, will host the 129th meeting of "Eurimages", a European Film Fund that supports European film co-productions and may open to Arab productions.

"The Dubai International Film Festival is an ideal venue for anyone looking for professionalism, modernity and worldwide cooperation in the film sector," Eurimages said in an e-mailed statement.

"The fund meeting at DIFF is expected to open the storied collaborative platform to Arab content, and help Eurimages members engage with Arab filmmakers and film bodies with a view to potential partnerships and funding opportunities."

The DIFF, incepted in 2004, runs annually under the topic " Bridging Cultures. Meeting Minds" as an influential platform for Arab filmmakers and talent at an international level, by spearheading the cinema movement in the region. Its 9th edition will be held from December 9-16 2012.

Dubai aims to become the region's leading hotspot for film productions and managed to attract blockbuster international productions for shooting in recent years including Tom Curise's Mission Impossible IV and Syriana, an agent thriller starring George Clooney.

Eurimages supports with an annual budget of 20 million Euros ( 25.6 million U.S. dollars) documentaries, animations and children' s films.

Eurimages, set up in 1988 by the European Council to co-produce, distribute, promote and exhibit cinema works from the 27 European Union member nations, has supported more than 1,500 feature films and documentaries. Some hundreds of them have won prestigious global prizes including Academy Awards, the Berlin Golden Lion and Cannes Palme d'Or.

Related

• Cannes film festival opens
• Sydney Film Festival to show more than 150 films in June
• The 2nd China-France Film Festival opens in Paris
• Nominees of Taipei Film Festival announced
• Beijing Int'l Film Festival's dazzling opening

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)