Arab filmmakers urged to explore the possibilities of professional marketing at 4th Gulf Nights at Gulf Film Festival

The fourth Gulf Nights session held on the sidelines of the Gulf Film Festival highlighted the world of marketing and distribution possibilities that awaits Arab filmmakers. 

Hosted every night from 12 am to 1.30 am, ‘Gulf Nights,’ attended by filmmakers, industry experts and the public, is one of the hugely popular public forums held at the film festival, organized under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture). 

On the fourth night, international co-producer and sales agent Pascal Diot, who also hosted a free workshop for students on marketing and distribution at GFF 2011, shared his insights with the participants on how to further expand the global reach of their movies. 

At the session, ‘Marketing & Distributing a Film,’ Diot said that emerging filmmakers in the Arab world are not aware of the existing possibilities in promoting their films. A veteran with over three decades of experience, he described a three-pronged approach to film marketing that includes hiring a co-producer, associating with a local distributor and joining hands with an international sales agent. 

Diot said that to take the Arab films beyond the region, the co-producer can play a key role in promoting the films in different markets as well as identifying sources of funding. The co-producer will also assist in honing the technical and creative aspects of production, and contribute to distributor deals by drawing on their knowledge and industry network.

The role of the local distributor is to market the films in the region that the filmmaker operates in. The session heard that one of the challenges faced by UAE filmmakers is that despite the large number of cinemas in the country, not many are willing to dedicate their screen space for independent films. “There is a definite audience for independent films in the UAE,” said Diot. “Every time I walk into a theatre screening an Emirati film, it is a full house.” 

He explained that the role of the international sales agent is to help find financing and assist in pre-selling the film. “They will talk to festival directors in different markets and to trade magazines to help the film stand out from the 5,000-odd films made every year,” added Diot. “Incidentally, of these 5,000 films, hardly 200 make it to the screens in the UAE.”

Diot said that promoting films on social media is not a guarantee that it will be selected by distributors. “Making a film is difficult; distributing it is equally challenging because several films are made that never get distributed. It is like the books that are written but never are published. My advice for filmmakers is to identify the three pillars that are central to film marketing early on.” 

GFF 2011 is being held at the InterContinental Hotel, Crowne Plaza and Grand Cinemas at Dubai Festival City. The Festival includes a Gulf competition, student competition, out-of-competition segments including children’s cinema, and other special events. All the 153 films from 31 nations screened at GFF 2011 until April 20 are free for entry for the public. 

The Gulf Film Festival box office is open from 10.30 am to 10 pm daily at the Grand Cinemas Dubai Festival City. All patrons are welcome to up to two tickets per person on a first-come, first-served basis. The full schedule of films is also available online at www.gulffilmfest.com. 

The Gulf Film Festival is supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and is held in association with Dubai Studio City.