Mumbai: Desert Door Productions has announced a $ 125,000 award for budding Arab talent at the 2008 Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

The Desert Door DIFF Work in Progress Award will support Arab cinema and filmmakers in the region by providing much needed funding.

The Desert Door DIFF work in progress award is a partnership between Dubai International Film Festival and Desert Door Productions aimed at encouraging Arab filmmaking. Every year the award will give the winner $25,000 to complete their film for over five years.

This year three candidates were shortlisted from the Dubai Film Connection out of the 108 projects that were submitted for consideration. The announcement of the recipient of this year’s award will be made on the 16th December 2008.

"Our mission at Desert Door Productions is to support the film industry in the Arab world and help young Arab movie makers achieve their full potential. We have committed to driving this award for the next five years in the hopes of encouraging the region’s burgeoning film industry," said Desert Door Productions board director and general manager Mohammed Al-Kateeb.

DIFF managing director Shivani Pandya said: "We welcome forward-thinking partners like Desert Door Productions, who are interested in working toward the goal of stimulating filmmaking in the Middle East. It is our most important mandate, and recognizing that the production process needs injection of funds toward the crucial, postproduction stage is the kind of clear, practical thinking that the Middle East needs to truly become a filmmaking centre."