Adding to the excitement around the exclusive line-up of movies to be showcased during the 13th Dubai International Film Festival, are the stores offering a mix of movie merchandise that film fans can now take home.
Giftswaala, owned by Vishal Parekh, is one of such stores offering a range of mainstream film merchandise this year, most notably of Star Wars: Rogue One. The film will premiere during the festival’s closing night on December 14.
Diff is also a platform for emerging and established filmmakers to network, get expertise from professionals and to take part in discussions. It is also an opportunity for companies in the film industry to get exposure.
Merchandising is a source of revenue for movies, selling products such as toys, T-shirts and accessories. Movie series are known to have huge fan bases. For instance, according to therichest.com, the Transformers franchise earned $3 billion (Dh11 billion) in merchandise sales.
Parekh, said the most profitable franchise is DC Comics, which includes iconic heroes like Superman and The Flash.
“In comparison, the sales of Marvel increases only when their film releases, but DC keeps selling regularly,” he said.
Along with the increase in merchandise availability, movie fans in the UAE are also on the rise, he said, which becomes evident during events such as Middle East Film and Comic Con.
“T-shirts are the highest selling products. Hoodies are sold the most during winters and people buy caps and key chains for kids,” said Parekh.
In addition, Parekh described Diff as a “very good platform” for local and small-scale movie makers to show their skills to the world.
For more information go to giftswaala.com
— The Young Journalist Award (YJA) at Diff is a training programme for high school students who are aspiring writers and reporters. Eight students are competing at the festival this year between December 7-14. One winner will secure a month-long internship with Gulf News.
