Dubai film festival to be held in December

The event is already shaping up as one of the major film festivals of the Arab world.

The accouncement came following a consultation with the organisers of the Cairo, Marrakech and Damascus film festivals.

Recently, Abdulhamid Juma, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Media City, met senior Cairo officials led by Cherif Al Shoubashy, Head of the Cairo International Film Festival.

Abdulhamid Juma, CEO, Dubai Media City said, "We are keen to contribute to the success of the Arab world's film festivals because one of our objectives is to enhance regional collaboration in cultural fields." The inaugural Dubai International Film Festival in 2004 enjoyed many successes including excellent public participation, a line-up of high quality films and a warmly received theme of cultural bridge-building.

Festival Director Neil Stephenson said that the 2005 programme and other details would be announced in the coming months, but he indicated that one of his priorities was to increase the highly successful Arab schedule of the festival and to introduce some special educational events to be staged during the festival to encourage aspiring young UAE film-makers.

The inaugural Dubai International Film Festival was held between December 6 and 11, 2004, and featured 76 films including features, retrospectives and short films. More than 13,000 people from around the UAE and the world attended the screenings during the six-day event, with ticket sales crossing the 18,000 mark on the fifth day.`December will be a happy time for movie lovers. `The other Arab festivals have also decided their dates, which are as follows:

Marrakech International Film Festival: November 11-19, 2005

Damascus International Film Festival: November 20-27, 2005

Cairo International Film Festival: November 29 - December 9, 2005

Dubai International Film Festival: December 11-17, 2005.