UAE students can paint their way into region’s leading film festival

• 24 winners will be featured in DIFF’s 2011 commemorative calendar presented to international guests and visitors
• Painting Competition for Children drew 1,400 entries from 30 schools last year
• Deadline for entries is October 31, 2010

The Dubai International Film Festival, the leading and largest festival of its kind in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, is inviting entries for the third annual painting competition for students between 5 and 12 years old.

Children from schools across the UAE are welcome to submit drawings and paintings in any medium, including crayons, watercolours, acrylic and oil paints. The theme for the competition is: ‘What cinema and DIFF mean to you.’ Entry is free and must be made through schools.

In its second edition, the DIFF painting competition received more than 1,400 entries from students representing 30 schools across the emirates. Following a jury selection, 24 finalists and their families received red carpet invitations to the Children’s Gala screening. The winning artwork is also reproduced in the DIFF annual calendars presented to regional and international guests and all Festival partners.

Mahsa Motamedi, DIFF’s Director of Marketing and Sponsorship, said: “Children are one of the Festival’s most cherished audiences, and they have always had a special space at DIFF. Our ‘Cinema for Children’ segment brings the finest in children’s cinema from around the world to their city, and our painting competition gives them the opportunity to shine like stars.”

“Children want to voice their opinion and to share their creativity – that’s why we’ve seen exponential growth in the popularity of this competition in the last two years,” she added. “We’re particularly interested to know what children think of cinema and of DIFF.”

Participating schools must certify that all works submitted are original and created without assistance. Entries must be submitted by October 31, 2010 to: DIFF Painting Competition, Dubai International Film Festival, Building No. 2, Dubai Media City, P. O. Box 502600, Dubai – UAE.

The seventh edition of Dubai International Film Festival 2010 will be held from December 12 to 19. DIFF 2010 is held in association with Dubai Studio City and supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah are the principal sponsors of DIFF. Registration for DIFF 2010 is now open at www.dubaifilmfest.com.