Festival to run Dec 10-17; tenth edition saw a 150% growth in attendance since its inaugural edition in 2004.

Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has announced that its 11th edition will run Dec 10-17, 2014.

Last year’s tenth edition was the most successful year to date, with attendance growing by 150% since its inaugural edition in 2004. DIFF’s Friends of the Festival philanthropic programme recorded a 60% increase in the number of people signing up for packages that included exclusive access to the festival’s events and films.

DIFF’s customer survey reported that 96.5% of audiences were overall satisfied with their experience, while 97.8% of festival goers planning to attend the festival again this year.

The tenth edition opened with Hany Abu-Assad’s Oscar nominee Omar and featured films that were nominated for an overall 36 Oscars, including 12 Years a Slave, Nebraska, Frozen and American Hustle, which closed the festival.

During the festival, it was also announced that DIFF now qualifies as a festival that can contibute short films for Oscar consideration. The qualification will apply to the Muhr Arab and Muhr Asia Africa shorts competitions. Winners from last year’s festival can qualify for the Academy’s 2015 competition.

Project market Dubai Film Connection saw over 500 meetings in three days for its 16 projects, while over 1,800 people attended the Market’s Forum sessions.

For more information on DIFF, visit its website.

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