The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), which ends a decade-long pause after being shut down about 10 years ago, is set to return with a new edition in December 2027. Dubai media and film officials say the event will begin on Dec. 8, 2027. The announcement is attributed to Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dubai Media Council and President of the Dubai Press Club.
Both outlets report the revival as a re-launch rather than a direct continuation of the festival’s previous format. Deadline notes that details about the event’s structure are not the same as earlier DIFF iterations, while Variety focuses on the confirmed start date and the fact that Dubai sources have validated the plan. The two reports emphasize the gap since the festival’s earlier closure, with no indication in either source that the previous version will return unchanged.
Deadline also connects the announcement to uncertainty around other regional film events, specifically citing the 2026 Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia as potentially facing challenges. Variety does not include that comparison but reiterates that the DIFF revival is reported by local media and confirmed by sources in Dubai.
