Competing for center stage

(CNN) -- Never before have film stars had so many opportunities to pose for the paparazzi. The cinematic diary is crammed full of festivals. Now there's a new one in Abu Dhabi.

The Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) rolled out the red carpet for the first time on October 14 with the aim of becoming the region's premier cinematic event.

It has stiff competition in the form of the most established festival in the region, the Cairo International Film Festival, now in its 31st year, as well a dozen or so others dotted around the region.

There still aren't as many as in the U.S. or Europe, but space on the film festival calendar is filling fast.

Another one of the more recent additions to the schedule is the Dubai International Film Festival.

The event started in 2004 and this year drew more international attention by luring high-profile U.S. actor and director George Clooney.

The Academy-Award winning actor attended the opening night screening of his latest film "Michael Clayton", and appeared in front of a live audience to answer questions about his work and life.

It's not just a love of film that's inspiring festival organizers to put on a show. A-list celebrities attract potentially lucrative international attention.

Jonathan Gabay, founder of Brand Forensics says, "The more of the big names you can get in there, the better it is going to be in terms of getting media coverage and the more media coverage you get, and then it starts boosting the whole thing up from there."

The first thing it boosts is tourism dollars.

"Last year we did some interesting survey for 709 people that came to the festival from around the world", says Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman of the Dubai International Film Festival.

"We found $31 million dollars were spent in those eight days in Dubai from those 700 people".

Tourism is becoming a much more important industry across the Middle East as the region's major players look to a future beyond the current oil boom.

It's not just tourists the region's leaders are attempting to attract; they want Hollywood to use the Middle East as their film-set.

Crews shooting feature-length crews can stay in one area for months, if not years, boosting the local economy with foreign dollars.

Tim Smythe, Managing Director and Executive Producer of Filmworks was involved in filming Peter Berg's U.S. spy thriller "The Kingdom", and Stephen Gaghan's political drama "Syriana".

"There is a compounding effect for every dollar spent. It actually works out to be about four dollars back into the economy because of the amount of people that are employed and the amount of work that is generated."

Foreign film-makers are not only looking to the Middle East for an authentic backdrop, but for financing.

There's no way to guarantee a film will be a box office hit, so investors must be prepared to carry a loss.

And after the global credit crunch, fewer investors in the U.S. and Europe are willing to take that risk.

Middle East Film Festivals... some of the biggest

Middle East International Film Festival
Launched: 2007
Where: Abu Dhabi
When: October 14 to 19
What: Hosted by the Authority for Culture and Heritage in Abu Dhabi
2007 Opening film: 'Atonement' starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy.
Special Feature: Launched Film Financial Circle, an annual event to bring together international financiers and film executives from around the world.

Dubai International Film Festival
Launched: 2004
Where: Dubai
When: December 9 to 16
What: DIFF is a not-for-profit cultural event, held under the honorary Chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Special Guest: Actor George Clooney
2007 Opening film: 'Michael Clayton', starring George Clooney
Special Feature: the Muhr Awards were launched in 2006 to recognize Arab filmmakers; includes cash prizes of $300,000.

Marrakech International Film Festival
Launched: 2000
Where: Marrakech
When: December 7 to 16
2007 Opening Film: 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age', starring Cate Blanchett
Special guest: Academy Award winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese
This year: 110 films screened from 23 different countries. On Saturday, December 15, four awards will be bestowed: the Grand Prize for Best Film, the Jury Prize, Best Actress & Best Actor.

Cairo International Film Festival
Launched: 1976
Where: Cairo
When: November 27 to December 7
2007 Opening film: British Comedy 'Death at a Funeral', starring Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes
Special Feature: First film festival in the Middle East E-mail to a friend