Dubai Studio City (DSC) is actively involved in the seventh Annual IIFA Weekend and Awards organised by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) and presented by Tiara Residence.
DSC will host the IIFA Workshop to be held at the Mall of the Emirates tomorrow. It has also organised a hand-printing ceremony to be attended by Aishwarya Rai this evening.
Producer Ashok Amritraj and actor/ producer Kabir Bedi will conduct the IIFA Workshop.
Learn from experience
"We recognise that there is a lot of talent and creativity in Dubai, but filmmakers here lack commercial and financial experience.
We invited Bedi and Amritraj because they are Indians based in the US and have international exposure and experience.
We hope young filmmakers in Dubai will benefit from this opportunity to see the films made by Bedi and Amritraj, listen to their experiences and discuss various issues with them," said Dr Amina Al Rustamani, executive director of media at TECOM Investments.
She also highlighted the long-term benefits of Dubai Studio City's association with the IIFA Weekend.
"We are happy to be a part of this event because IIFA is well recognised and the international exposure it gives us is unbelievable. Also most of the major film makers from India will be here for this event and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to interact with them to understand their needs and interests and to show them what Dubai has to offer in terms of locations, facilities and infrastructure," said Dr. Amina.
Dubai as base
She explained that Dubai Studio City aims to offer a complete technical and community infrastructure for the film, TV and music production industry.
"We conducted extensive surveys in Dubai Media City to understand the requirements of the companies based here and every feature of Dubai Studio City has been designed to cater to these needs. Our ultimate goal is to attract production companies and filmmakers from around the world to set up base in Dubai," said Dr. Amina.
"India has the world's largest filmmaking industry and a huge pool of talent in this field. We want to encourage these talented technicians and creative people as well as production companies to come to Dubai. And being part of the IIFA Weekend will enable us to do this effectively," she added.
Manish Malhotra
I am excited about doing the IIFA Foundation Fashion Extravaganza because it will raise money for film people who work hard behind the scenes.
It's the first time IIFA is doing a fashion show, which is great because Indian fashion is making waves globally.
It is going to be a great show, a mix of fun and some serious fashion, with stars walking the ramp.
I am excited about Dubai being the venue and am planning to go down two days earlier to do some shopping and sight seeing. I love Dubai because it is ever changing and growing at such a rapid pace into a global hub.
And that is why I chose to start my first flagship store there. I will show part of my first store collection at the IIFA Fashion Extravaganza.
