Sharjah (Union)
FUNN, the media discovery platform, has announced the start of preparations for the launch of the 11th edition of the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth, which will be held at City Centre Al Zahia from October 6 to 12. Through this festival, FUNN seeks to open up broad horizons for pioneering and emerging filmmakers, and provide a creative platform capable of enabling them to showcase their cinematic works to the public, which embodies the directions of the Emirate of Sharjah and achieves the goals of its major cultural project, the foundations of which were laid by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
This year, the festival will feature a rich program of quality films and innovative events aimed at providing the audience with an exceptional cultural experience. It will feature 98 films representing 18 countries, selected from 1,834 films from 73 countries, including Zimbabwe, which is participating for the first time in the festival, which has revealed that Palestine has been chosen as the guest of honor for its 11th edition. This will provide visitors with a unique opportunity to interact with Palestinian films, which are distinguished by their diversity, authenticity, and special aesthetics, as well as their contributions to enriching the Arab cinematic stock, in addition to exploring its long history, during which it has witnessed a large number of transformations and qualitative leaps that have enabled it to prove its presence in various international film festivals and compete for the Oscar Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director General of FUNN and Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth, stressed that the festival has become a global platform capable of presenting important cinematic productions that are distinguished by the strength and uniqueness of their stories, trends and visual scenes.
She said: “Thanks to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and the support of his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, the Sharjah Film Festival has been able to transform into a creative incubator for local, Gulf and Arab cinematic talents, enhancing their ambitions and future aspirations, and establishing a new generation of Arab filmmakers who are distinguished by their spirit of innovation, who understand the importance and impact of cinema and contribute to discussing the issues of their societies. Through its activities, the festival seeks to support them and enable them to develop and enhance their skills and encourage them to unleash their talents and express their different visions and ideas.”
Al Qasimi pointed out that the festival, in its new edition, includes a diverse group of films that highlight the diversity of human societies and reflect their reality, and at the same time expressed her happiness at choosing Palestinian cinema to be the guest of honor.
She added: This year, we celebrate Palestine and the aesthetics of its films, which have always influenced the course of Arab cinema since the 1920s until today, as it continues to present us with works that are distinguished by their high artistic qualities, impressive visual scenes, and their ability to tell inspiring stories that reflect the pulse of Palestinian society.
green carpet
This year, the festival was able to attract a diverse group of films from the Sultanate of Oman, Egypt, France, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, South Korea, Spain and Germany, which all represented the list of countries with the highest participation in the 11th edition of the festival. Meanwhile, the “Green Carpet” platform, which allows the audience to meet filmmakers, directors and festival guests, will host 4 different exclusive films, most notably the Kuwaiti film “Amakour” directed by Ahmed Al-Khudari and starring Khaled Amin, Samah, and Hussein Al-Shirazi, the Italian film “The Coaches” directed by Andrea Goblin, the film “The Professor” directed by Farah Nabulsi, and the adventure film “Diplodocus” directed by Vojtech Wojciech Wojciech, which is a production of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.
In contrast, the festival revealed the members of the jury, which includes 18 directors and experts, most notably: artist Shujoon Al-Hajri, Mohammed Al-Awbathani, Sebastian Reichold, Hanna Atallah, Razan Taqash, Suad Kaadan, Jitendra Misher, Susan Johnston, Ahmed Zein, and other filmmakers who will be responsible for evaluating the films competing for the festival’s awards, in the categories of “Student-Made Films” which will see 19 films competing, the “Short Narrative Films” category which will include 11 films, the “Arab Short Narrative Films” category which will include 17 works, the “Short Animated Films” category which will see 14 works competing, the “Feature Animated Films” category which will include 4 films, the “Feature Narrative Films” category which will include 12 films competing, while 10 films will compete in the “Films Made by Children and Young Adults” category, while the “Documentary Films” category will see the participation of 11 diverse works.
The festival will witness the participation of a large group of directors, artists and guests of honor from the UAE, the region and the world, most notably Emirati director Omar Al Mulla, Palestinian director Omar Al Rimal, Egyptian artist Yousra, Emirati actor Jaber Nagmoush, Kuwaiti actress Suad Al Abdullah, and many others.
interactive space
The Film Festival Market is a large interactive space that provides filmmakers, emerging talents and students with the opportunity to present their projects and ideas to industry experts and communicate with them through a series of discussion sessions organized by the festival, with the participation of a number of directors, artists and specialists who will discuss many cinematic topics and issues and their impact on the industry.
The market will witness the holding of 8 main discussion sessions, including: “Basics of Independent Filmmakers Presenting Their Film Projects” session, in which screenwriter Nadia Tabbara will participate, while the “From Stage to Screen: Young Theater Lovers’ Exploration of Cinema” session will host Emirati artist and theater director Marwan Abdullah Saleh and Kuwaiti artist Abdullah Al Tararwa. Graphic designer Sebastian Reichhold will shed light on visual effects techniques and their importance in the “Beyond the Magic of Visual Effects” session, while designer Maya Fadawi will work during the “Animate Your Imaginary Characters: Inspiring Youth to Delve into the World of Animation” session to encourage young people to explore the aesthetics and secrets of animation.
The market agenda also includes a session titled “From Independent Films to Cinemas: Transitioning to Film Distribution,” in which Bassam Al-Asaad, producer and director of Creative Media Solutions, Elie Touma, sales and marketing director at Frontrow, and Emirati director Ahmed Zein will discuss methods of distributing independent films.
Hanna Atallah, founder of Film Lab Palestine, and Ola Salama, executive director of Film Lab Palestine, will participate in the session “The Next Generation and Arabic Content Production for Children and Youth”, while director Omar Rammal and blogger Haifa Bseiso will shed light on the future of the Palestinian narrative during the session “Changemakers and Influencers: The Future of the Palestinian Narrative”. The festival will also celebrate its ambassadors Abdullah Al Taweel, Bina Al Ali, Fatima Saleh, Fatima Al Harmoudi, Nour Saleh and Meera Al Naqbi, through the session “Youth Empowerment”, who represent an inspiring model for encouraging youth and children to discover the masterpieces of cinema.
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