It’s never easy sitting down and using limited resources to create your dream film and it’s perhaps more difficult to establish a festival showcasing these films. Generating buzz and getting participants can be a taxing endeavor. Some are out of the gate with blinding star power while others bare more humble beginnings.
Dubai International Film Festival
This festival started in 2004 and is an effort to not only establish Dubai as a film hub but bridge the inter-cultural gap between Arab and non-Arab worlds through the medium of film. Given the recent tensions between the west and middle east over the last few years, such an effort is welcomed.
A team representing the DIFF has just concluded a tour through Toronto and Los Angeles in an attempt to raise the number of participants to the effort. So far they’ve drawn continued interest from studios like Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Mirimax.
The festival will be held in Dubai from Dec. 10 to the 17th with a slate of 102 films in which half will be Arabic. Also there’s Dhs 1.2 million in prize money up for grabs for any Arab and UAE filmmaker. Not too shabby.
This one will continue to grow very quickly as the stars were out in full force since the inception.
With Sunny Jamaica as the backdrop, the Flashpoint Film is set to feature the best and brightest in Caribbean film making. The second outing for this festival has hit some delays with the passing of one of it’s founders but is ready to roll on Dec. 1st to the 3rd at the Caves, Negril.
Like the DIFF, planners for the Flashpoint Film Festival are attempting to make inroads with both Hollywood and international film makers. In a recent article in the Jamaica Gleaner, Festival co-founder, Paul Bucknor, told of the technological upside, “We want to be the front-runners of a new digital film revolution in the Caribbean.” No doubt, the advances in technology have indeed made such declarations possible. Making films has become far more affordable and, according to Bucknor, “There’s nothing to stop us from making good films except our abilities.”
I totally agree. This is a humble but hopefully fruitful second outing for the festival. What they lack in star power when compared to the DIFF, they make up for with heart and determination. This is a region of the world that we need to see some more great films from.
I have no doubt they’ll deliver.
