Dubai-based Advanced Media Trading, a leading distributor of professional broadcast and cinema equipment across the Middle East and North Africa region, has announced the return of its biannual digital cinema event, CINECommunity. Scheduled for January 15-17, 2026, at the company’s UAE headquarters in Dubai, this initiative celebrates the UAE Year of Community through strategic collaborations with Courtyard Art & Community Centre and Analog The Room.
The three-day program will feature nine specialized digital cinema workshops addressing contemporary industry topics. These include cinematic lighting techniques after sundown, digital intermediate film laboratory processes, and sustainable production practices titled ‘greening the UAE screen one frame at a time.’ Notably, this edition marks a significant milestone with half of the workshops being led by accomplished female instructors, including Los Angeles-based cinematographer Sarah Winters, Cairo-based director of photography Zeina Khalil, and Abu Dhabi’s pioneering sustainable production advisor Nena Ostrogovic.
The event will also welcome returning instructors Fouad Aoun and Nikita Petsa, alongside new participants from Prague-based VFX studio Magic Lab. In a unique tribute to Dubai’s cultural landscape, Advanced Media has transformed its premises to replicate the iconic environment of Al Quoz’s The Courtyard, where founder Dariush Zandi will present a seminar on ‘the importance of community in the creative process’ on January 16.
Additional programming includes a hands-on workshop titled ‘Journey Through Camera Evolution and Hands On with All Formats’ conducted by Mohammed Kamal, founder of AnalogTheRoom. Kaveh Farnam, co-founder and chairperson of Advanced Media Trading, emphasized the event’s collaborative nature: ‘Cinema, or any other creative production, is inherently collaborative. We wanted to emphasize the importance of community and teamwork as part of our mission to position ourselves as facilitators and supporters.’
Registration for the free 90-minute workshops opened on December 25, 2025, with sessions conducted in Advanced Media’s showroom and training space. The facility will remain open to the general public from 2-8 pm daily throughout the event duration.