Dubai International Film Festival 2012

The 2012 Dubai International Film Festival is an exciting international film event that highlights independent films, filmmakers, and scriptwriters from around the world. The Dubai International Film Festival‘s aim is to help filmmakers reach the widest possible viewers, allow the international film community and overall public to experience the influence of cinema and promote their city as a main film making center. They are known for being a varied international film festival that supports developing and well-known directors.The festival will be held from December 7 to 14.

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) launched seven years ago and the influence it has had on the region’s film industry has been huge. This week-long film festival serves as a platform where native and international directors, film-makers, writers and actors can come organized to share ideas and creativeness through workshops and seminars to help each other attain success in the county market.

Dubai International Film Festival is held in every December, this major international festival charms ability and celebs from all over the globe. It holds openings of normal and regional films, shorts and documentaries – often on topics hardly tackled away in the world. In recent years, DIFF has also started showcasing African and Asian film skill.

DIFF also receives films that have been submitted to other international festivals to help native talent gain global appreciation and to more highpoint the growing film industry in the Middle East. This groundbreaking film festival in the Middle East has launched a varied range of awards and also, the Dubai Film Market, a programmer which enables assistance between local film-makers in order to bring scripts to screens. Many of its awards support up-and-coming young, local film makers and provide them with seed money and valuable industry influences.

For visitors, DIFF is a festival like no other where film is used to cross limits, typecasts and ideas, transporting a varied collection of stories from local GCC countries to life. For industry professionals, this festival is a precious week for networking and ahead support from programs and creativity related with the Dubai International Film Festival.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – Ruler of Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai. In 1995, Sheikh Mohammed was appointed Crown Prince of Dubai, with a chief objective changing his country into the world’s most luxurious resort and business destination. After the death of his brother in 2006, he took his current positions. Sheikh Mohammed was privately tutored before beginning his formal education, finally attending the Bell School of Languages at Cambridge University in 1966.

In 1995, Sheikh Mohammed was appointed Crown Prince of Dubai, with a chief objective of overseeing the transformation of this small patch of desert into the world the most luxurious resort and business destination. To that end, he helped develop the Palm Islands, the Burj al-Arab hotel, the Burj Dubai skyscraper, the Dubai World Cup and the Godolphin Stables. After the death of his elder brother in 2006, Sheikh Mohammed was named Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE.

Sheikh Mohammed has 21 officially acknowledged children: eight sons and thirteen daughters. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been known for his vast charitable donations. On May 19, 2007, he declared plans to give $US100m to set up the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, an educational foundation in the Middle East, one of the largest charitable donations in history. On February 11th, 2006 UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan nominated Sheikh Mohammed for UAE Prime Minister; the Council accepted this nomination.

Sheikh Mohammed represents active and successful leadership. He is a man who has made promises and kept them; he has maintained on excellence and attained nothing less; he has defined the role of leadership and fulfilled it. Since becoming the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, groundbreaking initiatives have been rolled out at an astonishing rate. A host of other cultural projects were also launched, including the Muhammad the Messenger Museum, the Universal Museums plan and the Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens. Sheikh Mohammed set out his complete world view in his book ‘My Vision’, where he defines his philosophy and his political and economic vision.

He also offers a thorough account of how Dubai and the UAE have been directed to their present-day rank as international centers, well-known for their high excellence commercial and financial services, luxury tourism and their drive towards maintainable human and structural development. Through kindness and dedication, Sheikh Mohammed has achieved notable success while shouldering the great responsibility of leading Dubai and the Federal Government.

Global Village a Cultural Landmark in Dubai

Global Village Dubailand is the world’s largest tourism, leisure and entertainment project. It is the region’s first best traditional, entertainment, family and shopping destination; celebrating varied cultures, art, theater and cookery from around the world. Every year, it welcomes 6 million visitors over an area of 17,200,000 sq. ft.
The Global Village has seen a great success since it has been launched in 1996 and through the following years, creating a unique tourist destination that is required by visitors from all over the world. According to the statistics, which have shown an outstanding increase in the numbers of visitors and nations contributing with superior sets of pavilions on the place, the village is still by far the most striking magnetism of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). It’s a good experience for the tourist to enjoy, as it provides them numerous of services and facilities.

The Global Village is another main attraction during the DSF 2012 for tourists, who get to travel global legacy and social variety. The Global Village is related with DSF, though it runs longer than DSF. The Global Village is a unique concept of bringing the whole globe under a single roof. As the name designates, Global Village is a true symbol of culture of various countries at a single place. Every country will set up its own rotunda, wherein famous products in their home countries are presented. Apart from product sale, Global Village also provides entertainment events, food stalls, children rides, sports activities and lucky draws on daily basis.

For the past 15 years, Global village has been providing cultural entertainment along with a globally shopping experience to millions of visitors. Wonderful live presentations, mouth-watering cookery from all over the world and reliable art crafts and products from different countries expect your arrival at the many rotundas of Global Village. There are many more attractions, including exciting trips and firecracker displays, to complete your visit.
Where the world comes together, Global Village attempts to offer its visitors with a fun-filled capability with detail to relief. Situated in Dubailand on Emirates Road, the location is easily reachable to all from around the country. Special services include but aren’t limited to shuttle services to and from Global village and the parking area, restaurants, prayer rooms and ATM’s. The guest’s comfort and experience is Global Village’s top importance.
Global Village is a must visit destination and runs in association with the Dubai Shopping Festival, however the village itself is undergoing major redevelopment which does not affect the existing village but will ensure from late 2008 onwards a year round destination that will attract millions of people.

A.R. Rahman to get Lifetime Achievement Award at Dubai Festival

At the coming Dubai International Film Festival A.R Rahman is going to be honored with Lifetime Achievement Award. The festival will be held from December 7 to 14. Rahman is seemingly the youngest person ever and the first musician to gain this award. In the past, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai had received the award for their outstanding input to cinema. This will be really another feather in AR Rahman’s cap.

“A. R Rahman is an inspiration for countless musicians and composers, and has brought a fresh infusion of talent to the Indian film industry. Through his international foray, working with some of the world’s most accomplished musicians, he demonstrated the power of music to cross all barriers and connect with a global audience,” said Abdulhamid Juma, the festival’s chairman.

Rahman is famous for his incredible film scores, and has written soundtracks for blockbuster Bollywood films including ‘Bombay’, ‘Lagaan’, and ‘Dil Se’. More recently ,Rahman’s Slumdog Millionaire, which was screened at DIFF 2008, won the musician two Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song, while his score for 127 Hours, which screened at DIFF 2010, won him Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Award nominations.

An Honorary Fellow of the Trinity College of Music, Rahman is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, and was named as one of the World’s Most Influential People by Time in 2009. Through his international foray, working with some of the world’s most accomplished musicians, he proved the power of music to cross all barriers and connect with a global audience with a global audience,” said Abdulhamid Juma, the festival’s chairman. We are honoured to present Mr. Rahman with the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dubai Shopping Festival 2012

The Dubai Shopping Festival is possibly one of the most famous shopping feasts in the world. The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), also known as ‘Layali Dubai’ in Arabic. Was formerly intended in 1996, the occasion attracted more than 300 million people today, is one of the most significant business event in the calendar year. Festival was first announced in February 1996 by the Dubai government as a trade event meant at endorsing trade in Dubai. The 32-day festival will be held from January 5 to February 5, 2012.

The one month extended festival, with the motto ‘One Family, One World, One Festival’, deals visitors some of the main and best brands in the world at lowest prices ever. Dubai has low importation duties and no taxation, and therefore, offers astonishing value to the bargain stalker. Even the major brands extensively available are less expensive in Dubai, than in their country of origin. During DSF, Dubai becomes the most exciting shopping destination in the world.

In addition to the shopping and prizes, hundreds of proceedings expect inhabitants and guests. From global performances, musicals, and shows to game, open-air, and fashion trials, Dubai Shopping Festival provides to every age section.

Dubai is also known as the ‘city of gold’. The city of gold concept was invented during one of the Dubai Shopping Festival consciousness movements, In 1996, Dubai invited everyone from all around the world to a worldwide annual festival which came to be named as the landmark “Dubai Shopping Festival” or DSF, they came up with the novel idea of a global village, a shopping village was considered with all nations contributing with their products and styles in their traditional or national ways, the settler ex pat population and the fly in visitors rejoiced in the celebration that took place and the promise was given that from then on every year Dubai will host a festival for people from all around the world. The years that trailed brought in more visitors more exhibitors and now the phase were set to shape on the standing of friendliness.

Dubai Shopping Festival plays an important role in Dubai’s tourism industry. Apart from the direct influence it has on the tourism industry, Dubai Shopping Festival also donates its share of importance into the nervous system of the emirate. With the rise of the number of visitors to Dubai for Dubai Shopping Festival, lots of possible immigrant talent and asset get to experience the luxury of Dubai.

Dubai Mall: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall

Dubai is fast becoming known for its outstanding and wonderful malls. If you are an uncompromising shopper and love to spend time either purchasing things or just window shopping, then Dubai deals a number of malls where you can shop to your mind’s content. Even travelers not really concerned in shopping can spend quality time at these malls.

The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall based on total area and sixth largest by gross leasable area. Situated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it is part of the 20-billion-dollar Burj Khalifa complex, and comprises 1,200 shops. Admission to the mall is provided via Doha Street, reconstructed as a double-decker road in April 2009.
The Dubai Mall has recorded a visitor turn-out of more than 60,000 tickets sold for the Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre in the first five days, following its opening. The Dubai Mall hosted over 37 million visitors in 2009, and attracts more than 750,000 visitors every week. While in 2010 it hosted 47 million, and saw footfall increase by around 27 percent over 2009, despite the economic crisis.

Apart from this, there is a lot that is on suggestion at the Dubai Mall. The designers have built-in a host of world-class magnetism that proposal an imposing and final shopping and vacation experience. The Dubai Mall also offers a diversity of escapade sporting and ice-skating activities. Besides this, the mall offers the enjoyments of a large movie screen, a top-notch aquarium similar to the best in the world, an underwater zoo and a 21st century gold souk.

The Mall’s Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre, developed and operated by Oceanis Australia Group, officially earned the Guinness World Record for the world’s “Largest Acrylic Panel” (32.88 m wide × 8.3 m high × 750 mm thick and weighing 245,614 kg.

The mall was constructed by a joint venture of Dutco Balfour Beatty, Al Ghandi/CCC and Turner Construction for Emaar Properties and was arranged to be completed in 2006, demanding to be the size of 50 “international-sized football (soccer) pitches”. Most of the labors used in building of the mall were Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan guest workers. The internal mobile phone coverage for Dubai Mall was custom-built, combined and approved out by Motorola Dubai for Etisalat and du. Multimedia and acoustic design is by Shen Milsom & Rilke, London.

5 Best Places to Visit in UAE

Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates and is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. Dubai was the 8th most visited city of the world and it is expected to accommodate over 15 million tourists by 2015. It is a great place for tourism and is famous world over. The primary activity of the tourists is shopping but there are also other modern and ancient attractions in Dubai which are a tempting factor for the tourists to visit this place. Here are some of the best places which you must visit in Dubai.

1. Burj Al Arab

Burj Al Arab is the tallest hotel in the world and the first 7-star hotel in the world. The construction was started in 1994 and was opened to the public in 1999. It is the iconic symbol of Dubai and it resembles a dhow (Arabian sea vessel) with a billowed out sail.

2. The Palm Islands Dubai

These are the world’s three man-made islands, so large that they can be seen from space with the naked eye. In 2002, the original two islands announced were the Palm Jumeirah and the Palm Jebel Ali and this project is being undertaken by Al Nakheel Properties (Nakheel Corporation). These islands are built in the shape of palm trees and there are houses on these islands to live in. It is simply stunning.

3. Dubai Museum

Dubai Museum is the oldest building in Dubai and was built in 1787. The goal of this museum was to present the traditional way of life in the Emirate of Dubai to the people. The museum includes local olden days as well as relics from African and Asian countries that traded with Dubai.

4. Fujairah

The naturally attractive scenery around Fujairah is a world away from city life and provides sufficient chance to discover wadis, forts and waterfalls. The fort overlooking the town is around 300 years old and is one of many in the city and surrounding hills.

5. Hatta

About 100km from Dubai is the sleepy town of Hatta. Beyond the town and into the Hajar Mountains are the Hatta Pools, where you can see deep canyons that have been carved out by rushing floodwater.

Dubai: Public Transportation Information Available on Google Maps

The progressive skill used by the RTA to lift the ability of facilities rendered to public transport users plays a serious role in describing the shape of the public transport network in Dubai, further assimilating mass transit systems.

Amongst the main technologies which the RTA is hopeful public transport travelers to use is the public transport network on Google Maps, which is made accessible for users around the clock, so that inhabitants and companions of Dubai can plan their daily travels through the RTA journey planner (Wojhati), as per the contract made between the RTA and Google.

CEO of RTA Corporate Technical Support Services Sector, Abdullah Al Madani said, “Following its launch on September 9 2011” the metro green line has been uploaded onto Google Maps to allow users to plan in advance their daily travels on all RTA public transport means, thus allowing charming, quick and precise movement to the planned destinations.

“This facility allows users of many kinds of public transport in Dubai to plan their everyday voyages in a charming and cool way at any time they wish through the Google Maps portal by using their computers or smartphones”.

“The ways of the planned drive will then be showed with full details, schedules and the charge of each trip depending on the opinion of source, destination and judgment of the journey. This facility allows inhabitants and companies similar to query about the agendas and ways of dissimilar trips and have them showed in a 3D mode, thus rendering Dubai a foremost global city using this technology among top cities with progressive transport systems worldwide, and at the same time characterizing the RTA vision of providing safe and charming transport for all”