Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Thursday, July 19th 2012 [ME NewsWire]
Board Members Explore Opportunities toDraw Global Players and Position Dubai as Regional Trailblazer
The newly instituted Dubai Film and TV Commission, established under the
directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council,
today held its inaugural board meeting. Confirmed board members
alongside key stakeholders from the film production value chain in the
public and private sector attended the session.
Headed by Jamal Al Sharif, Chairman of Dubai Film and TV Commission, the
discussion focused on the commission’s mandate to increase local
production and attract international players from both the film and TV
sectors. The commission also identified processes to decrease the cost
of media production to enhance Dubai’s attractiveness to regional and
international production companies and film studios. Additionally, the
board members identified a core priority to develop an incentive scheme
that fosters local talent..
Jamal Al Sharif said: “Dubai’s strategic approach to investment in the
media industry has established the city as the regional trailblazer.
This approach has benefitted both Dubai and the UAE at large.
“With the film industry in Dubai and the UAE on the threshold of
tremendous growth, the commission will deliver a much-needed boost to
the landscape. Furthermore, the timely decision to establish this body
will offer both regional and international filmmakers an enabling
platform to film in Dubai, which will in turn drive the growth of the
local film and television industry.”
Board members represented at the first meeting of the Dubai Film and TV
Commissionincluded: Adel Omar, Executive Director - Public Relations
Special Projects, Dubai Media Office; Lieutenant Colonel Khabeer
Mohammed Essa Al Adab - Dubai Police; Eyad Abdul Rahman, Executive
Director - Media Relations and Business Development Department,
Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing; Hamad Al Abdooli,
Promotion Investment Manager - Foreign Direct Investment Department,
Department of Economic Development; Shivani Pandya, Managing Director-
Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF); Samer Al Marzooqi, Manager -
Dubai Film Market, DIFF; Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior
Vice-President Corporate Communications, Emirates Airlines; and Marwan
Al Ali, Senior Vice-President - Operations, Middle East, Africa and
South Asia, Jumeirah Group.
TheDubai Film and TV Commissionhas been founded on the ethos that the
film and TV industry has a high multiplier effect on the macro economy,
impacting the tourism, transportation, storage, financial services and
construction sectors and ultimately contributing to an increase in the
overall GDP of the UAE.
Jamal Al Sharif added: “An interesting emergent trend is that viewers
are increasingly making travel decisions as a result of exposure to
locations featured in popular films or TV shows. This has contributed to
a 40 per cent increase in tourism at specific destinations, with
governments citing that the attractions draw one in 10 visitors to their
country.Some examples are Turkey and New Zealand.
“We also believe that incentivizing film and TV productions targeting
international audiences has increased the overall creative talent pool
and resulted in ‘fast-track’ development of the resident and indigenous
industry. We are confident that the initiatives of the Dubai Film and TV
Commission will help develop a rich resource of industry-specific
talent in the UAE.”
Research indicates a strong growth in demand for production services in
Dubai and interest from major international productions. Mission
Impossible 4 recentlydrew the world’s attention to Dubai, leading to an
increase in film productions from China, India and Europe.
After 11 years of establishing media zones, with 15 media zones either
announced or operational in the region, Dubai continues to offer the
highest concentration of media zones than that of any city. It punches
above its weight in terms of advertising expenditure, coming second only
to Saudi Arabia. This has, in part, been achieved by the presence of
more than 2,000 major media companies and over 20,000 media knowledge
workers from 129 nationalities.
Contacts
Zeba Ahmad
APCO Worldwide (JiWin Public Relations)
+9714 361 3590 (direct)
+9714 361 3333 (switchboard)
zahmad@apcoworldwide.com
Ashraf Abdullah
APCO Worldwide
+971 4 3692831
aabdullah@apcoworldwide.com
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