Audience members at the sixth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival will be watching premiers on a ShowTex Middle East movie screen.The decorative soft goods and movie screens in ALL 2009 festival venues are provided by ShowTex.The DIFF runs from December 9-16th and brings 29 world premieres and 13 international premieres to the city.
DIFF's rich cultural repertoire of 168 films is spread between two widely talked about global premieres- the Opening Gala of the all-star Nine and the Closing Gala on December 15 of Avatar, James Cameron's return to the silver-screen 15 years after Titanic.New releases from Spain's Pedro Almodovar, Jim Sheridan, Annette Bening, Samuel Jackson, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Geoffrey Rush,comedian Chris Rock and musician Jack White make their Dubai debuts. Both the Madinat Arena, one of Dubai's largest venues and the Madinat Souk Theater accommodate festival audiences this year.
The heavily occupied sound and lighting grid at such a large event posed a challenge when fitting the curtain tracks.The dedicated installation team from ShowTex Middle East proved they were up to the occasion.Two U-shaped 50 meter long curved ShowTracks manufactured by ShowTex were set up for the show. Two more L-Shaped ShowTrack curtain track systems of 50 meters were also installed. All four custom curtain tracks are powered by ShowTex TMC motors and operated all the FilledCloth scrim cyclorama fabric measuring 250m2.
This extremely flexible type of scrim is great for reflecting light and projection and drapes much easier than typical cycloramas.Films shown In the Madinat Arena were viewed on two ShowTex FrontScreen Supermat Perforato projection screens measuring 8.3 m x 20 m.The Madinat Souk Theater presented new films on two 5.2 m x 11.5 m projection screens, hung on a truss with specially designed hooks. The FrontScreen Supermat is ideal for traditional film viewing. It boasts a high light yield, good contrast, and a wide viewing angle.
The Perforato option is recommended for maximizing sound effects passing through the screen.The side masking for the movie screens was achieved with a ShowTrack controlled separately for the right and left side.For masking on the top and bottom of the film screens ShowTex made use of the EasyDrape pipe and drape mounting system.
To add a vintage Hollywood touch, Dubai International Film Festival theater seating was covered in 2700 running meters of Velvet Puccini.This light cotton velvet with a satin shine is truly opulent in classic red. Another star in the ShowTex Middle East product range, 2520m2 of DMX controlled Chameleon rgb led curtains by ShowLED was provided by Gearhouse Staging Connections to cover theater walls and the ceiling of the entrance hall. With most premiers sold out well in advance, this year's Dubai International Film Festival is shaping up to be one of the most successful yet.