The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) will conclude 2017, a year that was full of extensive international film festivals and markets, by participating in the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) for the third consecutive year. The 14th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) (December 6-13) will witness numerous activities undertaken by the ACC and 21 of its partners, who will be present in Dubai. The ACC's activities will vary between participating with films in the festival's different competitions, panel discussions and seminars, in addition to the latest edition of the Arab Cinema Magazine that will be distributed among the festival's visitors.
The partners of the Arab Cinema Center who are present in Dubai (in alphabetical order): Advanced Media (UAE), Arab Cinema Week in New York (USA), Arab Radio & Television (ART) (Saudi Arabia), Axe Pictures (USA, Morocco, Saudi Arabia), Beirut Cinema Platform (BCP) (Lebanon), Film Clinic (Egypt), iProductions (Egypt), Iraqi Cinema (Iraq), Iraqi Independent Film Center (IIFC) (Iraq), MAD Solutions (Egypt, UAE), Minaa Platform (Jordan), Movie Pigs (USA), Pan East Media (Jordan), Rotana (Saudi Arabia, Egypt), Rotterdam Arab Film Festival (Netherlands), Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF) (Sudan), The Imaginarium Films (Jordan), The Producers (Egypt), The Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC) (Jordan) and (Lebanon).
On December 7 at 12:00 PM (GMT +4), Producer Hani Osama (The Producers) will join a seminar to present the TV series Ana Shahira and Ana El Khayen, the company's latest TV project that is adapted from Noor Abdulmajeed's duology with the same title. Furthermore, Hani will present the TV series Seventh Neighbor that is currently gaining many viewers on TV and YouTube with over 10 million views. Seventh Neighbor is the first 60-episode Egyptian TV series and is directed by three young female directors Ayten Amin, Nadine Khan and Heba Yousry.
Within the Forum's program that is held as part of the Dubai Film Market, Hani Osama will participate in a panel discussion titled The Big Bang Theory on Sunday, December 10, at 10:45 AM (Dubai Time). The discussion will talk about how VOD and streaming services have radically altered the TV landscape and how content is created, distributed and consumed.
Producer Rula Nasser (The Imaginarium Films) will take part in a panel discussion titled Co-Producing for the International Market on Friday, December 8, 10:00 AM (GMT +4), where she will speak about co-producing, from development and finance to production and distribution.
Producer/Screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy will take part in a panel discussion titled Money Talks: The State of Global Film Finance. The discussion will be held on Friday, December 8 at 02:00 PM. Hefzy will speak about the current state of film finance and prospects for the future.
Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Managing Partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) and CEO of MAD Solutions, will reveal details of the 2nd Critics Awards, in addition to the upcoming activities planned by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) in its fourth year at a press conference that will be held on Saturday, December 9, at 03:00 PM (GMT +4).
Within the festival's various competitions, MAD Solutions will present 25 films from 20 different countries; five of which will land their world premiere and compete within the Muhr Short Competition, two films within the Muhr Gulf Short Competition, one film within the Muhr Feature Competition, two films within the Arabian Nights Programme, and 15 films within the Dubai Film Market (DFM).
DIFF is one of the most important film festivals in the Arab world. Every year, DIFF showcases over 120 features, short films and documentaries from around the world, hosts several world premieres, presents new and exciting cinema from the Arab world and beyond, and introduces audiences to promising new talent and original and unique filmmaking.
Organized by MAD Solutions in 2015, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema as it provides the filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with their counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes. The ACC also provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. The Center's activities vary between film market main wings, introduction and networking sessions for Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, as well as meetings with international organizations and festivals, and the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at the leading international film festivals and markets.
Furthermore, newsletter subscription is now available on the ACC's website, allowing users to obtain digital copies of the Arab Cinema Magazine, as well as news on the ACC's activities, notifications of application dates for grants, festivals and offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab films participating at festivals, exclusive news on the Arab Cinema LAB, and highlights from the ACC partners and their future projects.
The ACC also launched an English-language Arab Cinema Guide, available on its website, which is a comprehensive cinematic guide that comprises a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside of the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives to easily identify Arab film productions.
Since the beginning of 2017, the ACC has made 22 stops at international festivals and markets. The festivals attended are the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR), Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Beirut Cinema Platform (BCP) held within the Beirut Cinema Days, Istanbul Film Festival, Tripoli Film Festival, the 34th WIPO SCCR in Geneva, Cannes Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Eurasia International Film Festival, Festival del film Locarno, Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Film and Television Careers Connection (FTCC), San Sebastian International Film Festival, Malmo Arab Film Festival, Cape Town International Film Market & Festival (CTIFMF), Days of Cinema in Palestine, MedFilm Festival in Italy, LatinArab Co-Production Forum, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Arab Cinema Week in New York, and the Dubai International Film Festival.