DIFF sets contest for budding filmmakers

Dubai: The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) 2009 has sparked tremendous interest among film-lovers in the Arab world to contribute two-minute movie clips of everyday life to MBC's "Movies in Motion" contest.

The pan-Arab talent contest for budding filmmakers organised in partnership with DIFF, is sponsored by Sony Ericsson and the New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi. It has received 550 entries from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.

The winners of the contest will be announced at the DIFF 2009 closing ceremony on December 16. DIFF has been associated with the initiative with the objective of involving more youngsters and tech-savvy film lovers in the world of cinema.

Interested participants may submit their two-minute, two-actor and two-location movies to the MBC website www.mbc.net/mim.mbc.net. A 12-member industry jury, comprising academic and film professionals will evaluate the entries.

DIFF Marketing and Sponsorship Director Mahsa Motamedi said: "Since our partnership with the event, we have been providing the right platform to showcase film-making talent in the region and thus encourage young movie enthusiasts to take the next steps forward. Over the past three years, there has been a drastic improvement in the quality of contest entries as well as stronger participation of students and youth. This is a perfect fit to our objective of nurturing interest in films."