Where to catch free open-air film screenings in Sharjah

Sharjah Art Foundation has launched its free Winter 2020 Film programme, which will see critically-acclaimed movies screened across 14 days.

Running until March 27, this season’s programme focuses on films about displaced protagonists who are forced to leave their homes due to a variety of circumstances and find themselves dealing with the emotional, mental and physical effects of their new realities.

Films to be screened include Japanese classic ‘Sansho the Bailiff’ on February 28, a tragic tale about a family torn apart after the father is exiled from their home. While attempting to reunite with him, the mother and two children come under the control of slave traders. This film won the Silver Lion Award at the 15th Venice International Film Festival in 1954.

On March 13, Cambodian film ‘Last Night I Saw You Smiling’ will be shown. Directed by Kavich Neang, this 2019 documentary focuses on an iconic White Building in the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh, home to many families and witness to both personal memories and the rapidly changing dynamic of the nation, which is up for demolition. This film depicts the stories of the residents, including the director’s father, who must accept the coming change and prepare for the inevitable relocation.

March 27 will see ‘Black Girl’, a 1966 film from Senegal, about Diouana who moves to France with the family that employs her in the hope of a better life. Her excitement is quickly diminished, however, as she begins experiencing isolation, loneliness and a feeling of confinement in the foreign country.

All screenings take place at Mirage City Cinema in Al Mureijah Art Spaces, from 8.30pm, and are free and open to the public. To book complimentary tickets, go to sharjahart.org.