Variety Arabia, the Middle East’s only business entertainment magazine, has announced a line-up of international speakers for its upcoming film summit in Dubai.

Variety Arabia Film Summit 2012 will be held on April 18 and 19 at the Al Badia Golf & Country Club in Festival City.

Organised in association with Dubai Studio City, member of Tecom Investments’ Media Cluster, the summit will bring together exclusive groups of entertainment industry leaders to discuss the state of the industry and examine major issues/trends facing industry players.

Co-chaired by Mohammed Rouda, senior editor of Variety Arabia, and Premila Hoon, founder of Entertainment Capital Advisors in London, the summit will feature interactive panel discussions.

Focusing on the Middle Eastern region’s film industry in an international context, the event will draw upon the perspectives of top studio executives, independent production and distribution executives, as well as festival directors from Los Angeles, New York, London, Europe and the Middle East.

Bringing together an audience of emerging and established filmmakers and industry stakeholders in the UAE and the wider region, the event offers an opportunity to build new contacts, network and gain a valuable insight into funding and commercial opportunities that exist in the regional and global film industry.

Abdulhamid Juma, chairman of Dubai International Film Festival, and Alexander Koll, managing director of Swarovski Entertainment will deliver keynote speeches on opening day.

Other distinguished speakers include Rohit Khattar, chairman, Mumbai Mantra Media, Mumbai, Jamal Al Sharif, managing director, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Media City, Steve Hamilton-Shaw of Rocket Pictures, Elton John’s Film production firm and Michael Garin of Imagenation Abu Dhabi.

Themes that the summit will address include seismic shifts in the global dynamics of the sector, outlook for access to capital markets, digital technologies, censorship and film piracy, among others. – TradeArabia News Service