Sponsored: Gear up for the sixth edition of the Sharjah Film Platform…

Sharjah Art Foundation has been, since its inception, highlighting the very best of art, film and culture in the cultural hub of the UAE. This year is no different, with the sixth edition of the Sharjah Film Platform bringing to audiences a diverse range of screenings, including nearly 40 short and feature-length international films competing for the titles.

Brought to you with support from the Ministry of Culture and Youth, Sharjah Media City Free Zone (Shams), Air Arabia and VOX Cinemas, SFP 6 will run from December 8 to 17 and, in addition to the roster of international cinema in the competition, will also be hosting special screenings of notable works from and around the region. The Mirage City Cinema, the open-air theatre in Sharjah’s historical quarter and the Sharjah Institute of Theatrical Arts are the primary locations of the screenings. They will also be held at the VOX Cinemas at City Centre Al Zahia.

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Screening of A Night of Knowing Nothing, 2021. Director: Payal Kapadia. Sharjah Film Platform 5, Mirage City Cinema, 2022. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Shanavas Jamaluddin

The screening of the film is the just the beginning of the experience. Each film screening will be followed by an in-person question and answer session with the filmmaker. Central to the ideas of solidarity and resistance, a series of panels and discussions will also take place parallel with the film screenings.

What to expect?

In order to be eligible for entry into the awards, the films must be produced within the last two years and are making their UAE premiere. Several of these films have already garnered international acclaim. In addition to the nominated films, this section of the festival also includes the world premieres of four films that were awarded the Foundation’s Short Film Production Grants.

Based on the genre and length of the entries, awards will be given to four films in four different categories: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Fiction Feature and Fiction Short. Winners for the festival will be chosen by a jury made up of international experts and industry professionals.

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Screening of When the Snow Melts Down, 2021. Director: Aleksei Golovkov. Sharjah Film Platform 5, Mirage City Cinema, 2022. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Shanavas Jamaluddin.

What’s On this year?

Opening with Khaled Jarrar’s documentary Notes of Displacement (2023), the lineup also includes Cannes Film Festival award-winner Goodbye Julia (2023) by Mohamed Kordofani, and Locarno International Film Festival award-winner Mulika (2022) by Maisha Maene, among others.

This year’s edition will also shine light upon the pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye, through three screenings and an in-depth conversation on Faye’s craft. The festival will celebrate her legacy by showing three of her films: Fad’jal (Newcomer, Work!) (1979), Kaddu Beykat (Letter from my Village) and Man Sa Yay (I, Your Mother).

Sharjah Film Platform Awards 6, Mirage City Cinema, Sharjah Institute of Theatrical Arts,VOX Cinemas at City Centre Al Zahia, Dec 8 to 17, sharjahart.org

Images: Supplied