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When DIFF met TIFF

OFFICIALS OF the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) recently returned from a successful outreach tour to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), one of the most important in North America, which yearly premieres

latest offerings from the biggest names in film.

DIFF held an exclusive reception at the new One restaurant, located in the chic new Hazelton Hotel in the upscale Yorkville area. The intimate event was attended by 150 important industry guests, including Noah Cowen, Co-Director of TIFF; Peter Scarlet, Artistic Director of the Tribeca Film Festival; Jerome Paillard, Executive Director of the Marche du Film at the Cannes Film Festival; Peter Bart, Editor of Variety; Chris McDonald, Executive Director of the Hotdocs documentary film festival; and Claudia Lansberger, Managing Director of Holland Film/ European Film Promotion.

Film attendees included Arjun Rampal and Rituparno Ghosh, star and Director of The Last Lear. Prominent Canadian producer Niv Fichman, who chaired an industry panel at DIFF last year, was also in attendance.

Shivani Pandya, DIFF’s Managing Director, said: “The event at One was a valuable networking opportunity; the reception helped us further our mandate of showcasing the best of Arab cinema from around the world to a global audience by fostering relations with relevant festivals and key industry executives in North America and Europe.”

Simon Field, DIFF’s Artistic Director of International Programming, and fellow programmers Sheila Whitaker, Hannah Fischer, Uma Da Cunha and Fahad Al Khaja also attended the festival to finalise their selections for DIFF 2007, then moved on to Los Angeles for their annual meetings with studios and producers.