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MD Shivani's vision for Dubai Film Festival

Shivani Pandya, Managing Director of DIFF, talks about what's exciting in this year's festival.

THE POTENTIAL OF stories are infinite. Filmmaking and cinema today are a medium and platform that are far more important than ever before. With unstable political and social situations in the Middle East, a skewed altered perspective of Arabs in the West, the responsibility to share real stories, to act as a medium to create cross-cultural bonding from the east to the world, has fallen, in part, on the lap of the Dubai Film Festival (DIFF). It comes with the territory when dabbling in the world of films.
Stories, especially those that are projected on massive screens in dark rooms, draw us in, immerse us in an often fictional world that speaks volumes of truth. The perspectives are infinite, a theme that couldn't be more fitting for the 12th edition of DIFF this year. The growth of the festival over the last 12 years has been phenomenal. The development of the film industry has undergone exponential progression in the Middle East. The film landscape has seen changes from both the perspectives of filmmaking quality and talent to the audiences becoming more engaged and interested in Arab films.
Most importantly the opportunities for local and regional films to be showcased, for filmmakers and screen writers to network and learn, has and still is growing. Thanks to Shivani Pandya, Managing Director of the festival, DIFF is growing to be one of the leading film festivals in the region for both film fans and the film community.
As both architect and visionary, Shivani has been there from the festival's inception, strategically forging a path for the evolving film industry. Developing and nurturing the local film industry and establishing Dubai's position amongst the international film community are no easy feats. Yet she does it all with a smile and a lot of passion. That's what drives anyone who works in the world of film - passion for stories. This was evident in our interview with Shivani when she couldn't name her favourite movie of all time.
"It's very difficult (laughs). It really depends on my mood actually. There are so many diverse films that I love. I can't tell you which one - it's too difficult!"
DIFF opens tonight and over the next eight days will screen 134 films from 60 countries, featuring 55 world and international premieres, 46 MENA premieres, 11 Middle East premieres, 17 GCC premieres as well as documentaries and short films. We caught up with Shivani and asked her about what DIFF holds this year, the film industry in the region and what makes a good film.
How do you feel DIFF is different this year?
We have a really eclectic selection of films this year from a lot of different aspects. We seem to have a lot of Arab films with a huge participation from the Emiratis and UAE films. We are presenting five feature films, four Emirati films are in the competition and one of them will be in one of our Galas. There are a lot of little aspects. We have got The Beach screening which we have done before but this year we have changed the curation of it. We are presenting three world premieres on The Beach, that's never heard of before. We have got talent coming out for that. We have got two concerts after the screenings. We have got Song of Lahore and we will have the quawali performances after that. What we are trying to do is strengthen the cultural aspect of the festival, which was always there but we are trying to give something for everyone. You have the red carpet Galas, you can walk down the arena and the Souk and you can do the whole red carpet thing. But we have also got The Beach and it is far more relaxed. You can come with friends and family and make an evening of it. We are really trying to mix up the programme so there is something for everybody.
How have you seen audiences change since DIFF started 12 years ago?
I don't think the audiences have really changed but I think we have got more audiences coming through. The great thing about Dubai audiences is that they are very animated. They want to have discussions, they want to engage with the filmmakers. That's an opportunity that we provide because most of the films have somebody presenting the film. I just feel that's getting enhanced and more people want to come to Dubai and more people are here. So there is always a dialogue. And we just have more people coming out and our numbers are growing which is great.
How has the Arab film industry changed since DIFF started?
The landscape has totally changed. When we started out, there were few art films that were getting made. There was lots of funding issues. The Egyptian film industry had gone through a time they weren't getting much financing, then the broadcasters stepped in. By the time, we set up the market and we started pushing; because right from day one our focus has been on Arab cinema. We are an international film festival but our focus has been to promote and encourage Arab cinema. Therefore we create a lot of different program initiatives to help get them funding, whether we are partially funded or we got organisations to fund. We are bearing fruits for all the hard work done in the last few years. When I used to go to Toronto 8 years back, there used to be one or two Arab films, now you see anything between 10 to 20 films being showcased in their program. In Cannes, we had winners from this part of the world. It's been a huge impact and soon you'll start seeing great stuff and see some great films come out.
What makes a good film?
A movie that engages works for me. It's so subjective and depends on your taste. What makes a good film - as long as you are engaged and immersed, that's it... that's what makes a fantastic film.
How do you feel the current mood of the Arab world and what's happening outside of the Middle East affects the film industry?
I think cinema is an art form and I think what is happening around is absolutely dreadful. We believe that films are a way of communicating with people. We believe it allows people to see other cultures. It creates a bridge between all the diverse people around the world. For us, we feel that filmmaking is far more important than ever before. There has to be a certain responsibility also.
What are you specifically excited for in this year's festival?
I am excited that we have partnered with Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature. There are lots of adaptations. If you look at the festival films, we have got Room, which is a book and Brooklyn, which is a book. There are tons of them. The Man Who Knew Infinity is what we have chosen to present. We are also getting the director, author, so it will be quite an interesting discussion. And we will also do something at the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature. So that's an exciting aspect.
Can we expect to see more partnerships with other festivals in the UAE?
We work very closely with Art Dubai and now Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature. We are working with Image Nation to support Arab cinema and that's something we are very excited about. Because for us we have to build the audiences. If Arab cinema needs to become important in the whole wide world, then there has to be local audiences that go out and see it.
How can budding filmmakers and screenwriters take advantage of DIFF?
For one thing budding filmmakers can come out and see films and interact with the filmmakers. That is just a great opportunity. The kind of people that come down, they would never be able to do that. People can go for different packages, depending on how many they want to attend.
Media students can get accreditation within the festival and their batch will allow them to come and watch as many films that they want to. We have a lot of different initiatives and we provide great networking opportunities.
Going forward from now, what's the next step for DIFF?
I am already looking at a few things to do next year from the industry side. One of the key element that we want to do is support more children. We want more festival films that can be seen round the year.
We would love to go back to get script development done from this part of the world, encouraging aspiring budding film makers to get their scripts written. And to be able to get them screened eventually. We have got a lot lined up.