Sharjah Film Platform 7: Celebrating global stories and cinematic innovation

Sharjah Art Foundation has announced the programme for the seventh edition of Sharjah Film Platform (SFP7), featuring a rich array of documentary and fiction screenings, alongside a series of thought-provoking talks. This annual film festival continues to present transformative, compelling, and boundary-pushing films to audiences in Sharjah and beyond.

Running from November 15 to 24, 2024, Sharjah Film Platform 7 will take place at the Mirage City Cinema, the open-air theatre in Sharjah’s historical quarter, and VOX Cinemas, City Centre Al Zahia.

The competition section of the festival showcases a diverse selection of films from across the globe, including entries from Myanmar, Bhutan, Rwanda, Nigeria, Colombia, Bahrain, and Palestine. An international jury of industry professionals will select award-winning films in four categories: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Fiction Feature, and Fiction Short.

Competition highlights

The festival opens with A Fidai Film (2024) by Kamal Aljafari, a documentary reclaiming looted memories of Palestinian history through archival footage. Other notable films include Places of the Soul (2023) by Hamida Issa, an environmental expedition to Antarctica that contrasts its icy landscapes with Qatar's deserts; Pham Ngoc Lan’s Cu li không bao gió khóc (Cu Li Never Cries) (2024), a black-and-white exploration of personal and political histories in contemporary Vietnam; and The Great Yawn of History (2024) by Iranian filmmaker Aliyar Rasti, which tells the story of a middle-aged religious man on a treasure hunt.

The festival also features two films supported by Sharjah Art Foundation: Upshot (2024) by Maha Haj, a poignant story about a couple grappling with their painful past, and From Ground Zero (2024), an anthology of 22 short films by filmmakers from Gaza that concludes this year’s festival.

Director in Focus

This year’s Director in Focus section highlights the work of acclaimed Syrian auteur Mohamad Malas, known for his powerful explorations of modern Syrian history. Audiences can enjoy screenings of The Dream (1987), The Night (1992), and the global premiere of his latest film, Oh Father, I Am Youssef (2024). Malas will also lead a masterclass on the role of storytelling in cinema.

Talks programme

Running alongside the film screenings, this year’s talks programme explores themes such as modernity in African and Asian cinema, cinema as a tool for resistance and resilience from Palestine and beyond, and innovations in documentary filmmaking.

Organised by Sharjah Art Foundation, SFP7 is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sharjah Media City Free Zone (Shams), VOX Cinemas, and Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation.

For the full list of screenings and talks, or to book tickets, visit sharjahart.org.