Dubai Media City seeks to raise DIFF's international profile in Cannes Film Festival

The delegation will include among others Mr. Abdulhamid Juma, CEO of Dubai Media City and Mr. Neil Stephenson, CEO of Dubai International Film Festival.

Through a series of promotional events in Cannes, the Dubai delegation will be seeking to raise the international profile of the inaugural Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) to be held in December, 2004. A wide cross-section of actors, directors, producers, cine-journalists and other high-profile film professionals are expected to attend a gala reception that Dubai Media City will hold in Cannes in conjunction with Variety.

"The festival's themes of cultural understanding and international harmony will touch a chord with western filmmakers and artists at a time when important Western and Eastern voices are advocating the need to build cultural bridges between each other," said Juma.

The Dubai International Film Festival will showcase a wide selection of contemporary and classic cinema, but will have a strong focus on Arab cinema. The event will open on the evening of Monday, December 6 and run for five full days with a closing gala scheduled for the evening of Saturday, December 11.

"Dubai hopes to be an enchanting new addition to the global film festival circuit," continued Juma. "Our participation will raise awareness not just about the film festival but also about the potential of Dubai as a location for media production."