The Dubai International Film Festival is set to be revived after a 10-year hiatus and due to return on December 8, 2027.
The announcement was made by Mona Ghanem Al Marri, vice chairperson and managing director of the Dubai Media Council, on Thursday (September 17) during the Arab Media Summit.
She outlined a new format that would spotlight Arab cinema and filmmakers from across the Middle East, and provide directors, producers, actors and writers with an industry platform to showcase their work and connect with investors.
The festival is proposed to combine screenings and industry discussions while also highlighting emerging talent, in a bid to support and grow the film business in the region.
It would mark the 15th edition of DIFF, which was due to take place in 2018 before being shuttered eight months before the event. At the time, organisers said the festival would be postponed until 2019 as part of a major overhaul.
Founded in 2004, the festival had grown into a key event for both the UAE and the entire Middle East, championing Arab cinema and showcasing films from around the world. It also hosted a raft of industry initiatives such as the Dubai Distribution Programme, the Dubai Film Connection, and the Enjaaz Fund, which provided post-production support to films such as Haifaa Al-Mansour’s Venice award-winner Wadjda.
At the Arab Media Summit, Al Marri said the revived DIFF would carry forward the festival’s legacy while beginning a new chapter for cinema in the region.
She said the festival was returning not to recreate the past, but to build on its legacy and reflect the changes taking place across the region and the rapid evolution of the film industry.
Al Marri added the ambition extended beyond organising a successful festival to supporting the development of the film industry, nurturing a new generation of talent and providing a platform for Arab stories to reach global audiences.
Hesham Sultan Al Olama, CEO of the Dubai Films and Games Commission, further said the festival would bring fresh momentum to the film industry in Dubai and the wider region, create new opportunities for filmmakers and strengthen the international reach of regional cinema.
He added that the Commission would work closely with partners and the creative community in the UAE, the region and internationally, with further details to be announced in due course.
When it was placed on hiatus in 2018, organisers said it had hosted almost 2,000 screenings including 500 films from the Arab world, helped more than 300 films from the region reach completion, facilitated funding and partnership for a further 140, supported more than 200 talented Arab filmmakers through the Festival’s Muhr Awards, and driven tourism across the city.
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