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MADINAT JUMEIRAH CONFERENCE CENTRE DUBAI
DECEMBER 7-14, 2016
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual eight-day event that takes place at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference Centre in Dubai. Sponsored by a myriad of local and regional partners, the festival has consistently pledged to showcase cinema from the Arab world since its inception in 2004. This year DIFF presented 156 feature films, shorts, and documentaries from fifty-five countries, including seventythree premieres from the Middle East and North Africa region, twelve premieres from the Middle East, and nine premieres from the Gulf Cooperation Council region. DIFF also featured fifty-seven world and international premieres, with special programs such as Nordic Spotlight, a segment dedicated to films from Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway; Oscar Glory, which featured a selection of films that are official submissions to the Academy Awards; and Last Chance, dedicated to the late Abbas Kiarostami and Andrzej Wajda and featuring their respective films Take Me Home (2016) and Afterimage (2016), which were screened alongside Seyfolah Samadian's documentary 76 Minutes and 15 Seconds with Abbas Kiarostami (2016).
Aside from the usually stellar lineup of films, DIFF is also known for its nightly red carpet gala screenings and the scenic views surrounding its venues-one of which is at Jumeirah Beach, an openair beach cinema open to the public at no cost. The DIFF also generates highly productive spaces for its participants. For example, each screening is followed by a lengthy Q&A session, often with the director, producer, and members of the cast. The Dubai Film Market (DFM), established in 2007, houses an extensively curated film library, offers exhibition and networking opportunities, as well as funding and distribution support for regional filmmakers. New to the DIFF this year was the lineup titled DIFFerent REALITY, which featured ten virtual reality films, including five world premieres such as Romain Levices's Oblivius (2016) and Hassan Kiyany's Flash (2016). Among its many exhibition...