ABU DHABI // Two Hollywood figures and a senior executive of CBS television are to be guests at an annual film conference in the emirate next month. Barbara De Fina, executive producer of the 1990 film Goodfellas; Walter Parkes, a DreamWorks screenwriter-producer whose production credits include The Kite Runner; and Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Television Network Entertainment Group, are expected at the Circle Conference, taking place from October 9 to 11.
Also attending will be the Egyptian actor and director Amr Arafa; Stewart Till, the chairman and chief executive of United International Pictures, the biggest film distributor in the world; and Sheikha al Zain al Sabah, a Kuwaiti whose film company made the Palestinian movie Amreeka. The Circle Conference, which aims to raise the UAE's profile in the international film industry, coincides this year with the Middle East International Film Festival, taking place on October 8-17 in Abu Dhabi.
Announcing the Circle Conference line-up on Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival, David Shepheard, the director of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, said this year's conference would address the business and creative aspects of making film and television content, new approaches to financing and distribution, and the impact of digital technology. aseaman@thenational.ae
