Sharjah International Film Festival for Youth and Children (SIFF) has announced the number of films screening at their upcoming 7th edition, which will take place October 13-18.
This year’s SIFF, held under the theme ‘Films Inspired By Books’, will take place across seven screening venues in Sharjah and Dubai.
A total of 132 films from 39 countries have been selected from a total of 1,454 submissions from 86 countries. The films span seven competition categories: Best Child- and Youth-made Film, Best Student-made Film, Best GCC Short Film, Best International Short Film, Best Animation Film, Best Documentary Film, and Best Feature Film.
These include 12 international premieres and 75 Middle East premieres.
“Books will always inspire all forms of arts,” said Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN and SIFF.
“Sharjah earned the prestigious World Book Capital 2019 title, because it has worked hard for many decades to build generations of readers and is dedicated to fostering reading and books through educational, pedagogical, cultural and artistic programmes.”
This year, a junior jury consisting of children and youth will evaluate films made by their peers while professional jurors, including Omar Farouk, Basel Khayat, Julian Carrington, and Abdul Rahman Al Aqeel, will assess the rest of the categories.
Venues include Festival City, City Walk, Arabian Center, Last Exit and La Mer in Dubai, as well as Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre and Cinema Zero 6 in Sharjah.
Alongside movie screenings, SIFF will hold workshops and panels directed towards the youth.
“You are lucky to enjoy all this support and care. We did not have the same opportunities when I was the same age as you,” said Emirati actor and director, Abdullah Al Junaibi. “We did not have a festival like this; there were no workshops or sessions that introduced us to new technology, or taught us about production and direction. We had no one to screen films for us, or explain the technique behind them or analyse their artistic worth. Please utilise this golden opportunity that we did not get.”
