The inaugural Cinematic Innovation Summit will be held December 5-6 in conjunction with the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

Co-organised with Seattle-based Center for New Cinema and France-based Naseba, the event is focused on how technology is transforming the film industry and will feature speakers from Hollywood, Silicon Valley and academia.

Designed as an annual event, it will combine a symposium and film festival with “interactive space for cutting-edge works and technologies”. It will be held at the Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah at the beginning of this year’s DIFF, which takes place December 6-14.  

Scheduled speakers include: Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith; actor Stephen Lang (Avatar) and Lava Bear Films CEO David Linde.

“In today’s world, technology is transforming the entire media ecosystem,” said DIFF chairman Abdulhamid Juma. “We understand that providing guidance to these powerful new tools for storytelling is now crucial to the achievement of our ultimate goal - enabling talent and film to find critical and commercial success.”

CNC president JB Davis said: “It’s an exciting time to be in cinema: the rules for how movies can be made and experienced are all being rewritten. The Cinematic Innovation Summit exists to anticipate the changes to come.”