DIFF is coming up with something exciting next year

Organizers for the Dubai International Film Festival have announced that the festival isn’t happening this year because they’re “adopting a new approach” for its 15^th edition in 2019.

New approach will make DIFF a biannual event

Since 2004, the film festival has been an annual event but after announcing a change in their approach, it will be held once in every two years. A tweet from the Dubai Media Office states that their new strategy will “further boost the event’s status as one of the world’s leading film festivals.”

The industry is changing fast, and so are we. The organisers of DIFF will be adopting a new approach with the festival taking place every 2 years, the 15th edition of DIFF confirmed for 2019. Final dates and more details to follow – stay tuned! https://t.co/cFjGmJ9TuL

— Dubai International Film Festival (@dubaifilm) April 18, 2018

UAE’s Pavilion at Cannes falls under risk

Every year, a pavilion is alloted to UAE during the Cannes Film Festival, which is the second the largest film festival according to trivia media outlet ‘Mental Floss’. The pavilion showcases the best works from the Arab Cinema World. Their strategic partnership went on for 15 years. If UAE Pavilion gets eliminated, it means participating delegations like Dubai Studio City and Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival will not be able to present their works either.

141 films were screened at DIFF last year

Competing for 14 awards in acting, directing, feature films and short films, last year’s edition witnessed 141 films selected and screened over the course of one week, close to a double after 76 submissions in its inaugural edition. The film festival has been a platform for filmmakers in the Arab World, with four awards: ‘Muhr Feature’, ‘Muhr Short’ and ‘Muhr Gulf Short’ awarded only to filmmaking talents from the Arab World and GCC.

DIFF is yet to announce dates for its next edition. For more information, go to www.dubaifilmfest.com.