Advanced Media Trading, the leading distributor of professional broadcast, photo, video and cinema equipment and accessories across the MENA region, returns with CINECommunity from January 15-17, 2026. The biannual digital cinema event is convened in collaboration with the Courtyard Art & Community Centre and in partnership with  Analog The Room in honor of the UAE Year of Community and in recognition of the vibrant, thriving and emerging community of creatives across the MENA region. 

CINECommunity is conceptualized in celebration of diverse perspectives, experiences and responsibilities that work as a collective at every stage of production to deliver an innovative and inspiring project. The three-day open house event held at Advanced Media’s UAE headquarters in Dubai will be featuring nine digital cinema workshops that cover a range of topics such as Cinematic Lighting After Sundown, DI - film laboratory for the digital age, and even Greening the (UAE) Screen one Frame at a Time. For the first time, half of the workshops will be led by experienced female instructors such as Los Angeles–based cinematographer, Sarah Winters, Director of Photography based in Cairo, Zeina Khalil, and Abu Dhabi’s first sustainable production advisor, Nena Ostrogovic. CINECommunity will also be welcoming back previous instructors such as Fouad Aoun and Nikita Petsa, and introducing the team from Magic Lab, a picture post-production and VFX studio headquartered in Prague.

For this edition, Advanced Media is collaborating with the Courtyard to pay homage to a Dubai landmark and institution. Nestled in Dubai’s Al Quoz district, the Courtyard Art & Community Centre is a pioneering cultural space conceived and built by designer, architect, and photographer Dariush Zandi between 1992 and 1998. The Courtyard is a meeting point for people, art, culture, and nature, embodying the spirit of the city and its diverse communities. Dariush Zandi will be delivering a seminar on “the importance of community in the creative process” on January 16th in Advanced Media’s premises converted to replicate the famous landscape of Courtyard. Also, Advanced Media will be holding a breakfast and broadcast session showcasing the Red Cine-Broadcast module, featuring the RED V-RAPTOR XL, at the Courtyard Playhouse on January 15th ahead of CINECommunity’s inauguration.

Additionally, Advanced Media has partnered with Analog The Room, the UAE’s premier photo lab dedicated to the art of analog photography, to forge a connection between the nostalgia, beauty and craft of analog and efficiency and skill of digital. Analog The Room specializes in preserving the unique qualities and craftsmanship of film photography, an art form that continues to captivate and inspire, as the UAE’s premier photo lab dedicated to the art of analog photography. CINEcommunity visitors will have an opportunity to attend a “Journey Through Camera Evolution and Hands On with All Formats” workshop with Mohammed Kamal, photographer, engineer, and the founder of AnalogTheRoom.

“Cinema, or any other creative production, is inherently collaborative. We wanted to emphasize the importance of community and teamwork. It has always been a mission of  Advanced Media to position ourselves as facilitators and supporters. CINECommunity is yet another step towards that.” Kaveh Farnam, co-founder and Chairperson, Advanced Media Trading.

“We do things because we need to achieve something, and sometimes you realize that it is not only your need but also the need of many people, the need of a community. I am so glad that Courtyard is becoming a part of CINECommunity because we are all about community.” Dariush Zandi, designer, architect, photographer and founder of Courtyard.

Advanced Media will be opening registration for CINECommunity workshops on December 25, 2025. The free-to-attend workshops are 90 minutes each and conducted in Advanced Media’s showroom and training space. The showroom remains open to the general public from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm every day and expected to receive 300 and 500 visitors. While the event is brand agnostic, there will be representation from well-known brands such as Sony, DJI, RED, Zeiss, Atomos and exceptional products would be highlighted.