Sharjah Film Platform to feature 60 international titles in cinemas and online
The Sharjah Art Foundation’s third annual film festival, Sharjah Film Platform, will begin this month, with more than 60 titles to be screened.
The line-up, which comprises online and in-cinema screenings, will include recent films such as The Shepherdess and The Seven Songs by Indian filmmaker Pushpendra Singh, winner of Best Director in the Young Cinema Competition at the this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Also being screened at the event, which starts on Saturday and runs until November 21, is Eyimofe ( This is My Desire) by Nigerian twins Arie and Chuko Esiri – a film that earned a Best First Feature nomination at the Berlin International Film
Festival this year – and Epicentro by Austrian director Hubert Sauper, winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Sharjah Film Platform will open with the premiere of Soha Shukayr’s Once Upon a Revolution, a short film supported by the foundation’s production grant. Work by other beneficiaries, including Nadia Amrani, Pelin Tan and Anton Vidokle, will also be shown.
“There is an exceptional community of filmmakers in the UAE and the surrounding region, and through the establishment of Sharjah Film Platform in 2018, we aimed to build on SAF’s long-standing support for filmmakers and help to bring their work to wider international audiences,” says Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of Sharjah Art Foundation.
The film platform has also launched a new initiative called Industry Hub, which aims to support production and distribution in the Menasa region. Running until Saturday, January 16, it includes four main components: an immersive online scriptwriting course; professional training on how to prepare for a film’s pre-production; a coaching and pitching event for Emirati scriptwriters, who will have the opportunity to compete for Dh100,000 ($27,000) to turn a script into a feature film; and a virtual distribution market, at which filmmakers can showcase their work to prospective buyers, distributors and programmers.
“The substantial developments happening this year allow us to build on our commitment to film by bringing the work of incredible filmmakers from the region straight into the homes of viewers around the world, and by creating new infrastructure to support emerging filmmakers and lay the groundwork for more risk-taking, experimental and exceptional films in the years to come,” Al Qasimi says.
Screenings will take place at the emirate’s recently renovated Flying Saucer and Cinemacity Imax at Zero Six Mall, as well as the foundation’s openair Mirage City Cinema. Online screenings will be hosted on the foundation’s website. Tickets cost Dh10 for online screenings and Dh20 at the venues. An online all-access pass costs Dh50.