The Program · 2026
Program
Three days in Downtown Dubai: screenings, the awards ceremony, and a day of panels and workshops.
Announcement
Dates and venues confirmed
Screenings on 28 and 29 November are at CinemaCity Fountain View, Dubai Mall. On 30 November, panels and workshops run from 10:00am to 4:00pm at The Junction, and the awards ceremony follows that evening at Belcanto on the rooftop of Dubai Opera. Session details are published here as they are confirmed.
Submissions close 20 October. Official Selections are announced 12 November.
The Schedule
Three days
Each day has its own centre of gravity. Two days of screenings, then a day given over to the industry that ends with the awards in the evening.
A full house at the 2025 screenings
Days 01 – 02
Screenings
Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026
The Official Selection plays across both days, grouped into programmed blocks by category. Filmmakers in attendance are introduced before their work, with Q&A sessions after the key screenings.
CinemaCity Fountain View, Dubai Mall.
Fifteen competition categories
The interview stage, 2025
Day 03 · Daytime
Panels and workshops
Monday 30 November 2026 · 10:00am – 4:00pm
The industry day. Panels on production, distribution and AI in cinema, alongside acting and producing workshops led by jury members Ron Perlman and Shohreh Aghdashloo.
The Junction.
Meet the 2026 jury
Belcanto · the rooftop of Dubai Opera
Day 03 · Evening
The awards ceremony
Monday 30 November 2026 · from 7:00pm
Fifteen 24-karat gold Clapboards are presented at Belcanto, on the rooftop of Dubai Opera, before an invited audience of one hundred: the jury, the 2026 winners, festival partners and accredited press.
Reception, dinner and the presentation all take place in the same room, beginning at 7:00pm.
Inside the venue