The Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth concluded the activities of its eleventh edition, which was held under the patronage of the wife of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, President of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah.

The closing ceremony was held last night at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Center in the presence of directors and employees of the film sector, when distinguished and promising filmmakers were crowned with the festival’s awards in the their eight divisions.

The film “Amakor”, directed by Ahmed Al-Khodary, won the award for the best film, and “Mar Mama”, directed by Magdy Al-Omari, won the award for the best Arabic short film.

The film “Hoof Beats”, directed by Fargul Masroorad and Hossein Zeitounejad, won the award for Best International Short Documentary Film, and the film “Seven Waves”, directed by Asma Bseiso, won the award for Best Documentary Film.

The film “Diplodocus”, directed by Wojtek Favsztyk, won the award for the best animated feature film, and the film “Lola and the Acoustic Piano”, directed by Augusto Zanovelo, won the award for the short animated film the best.

The film “Let’s Remember”, directed by Carolina Cruz, won the award for the best film made by students, and the film “Discrimination”, directed by Yiha Kwon, won the award for the best film made children and adolescents.

In her speech at the ceremony, Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director General of the Fan Foundation and Director of the Festival, emphasized in her speech at the ceremony the importance of the event and its role in being developing the artistic taste of future generations and enriching the culture and knowledge of every member of society, which made it an integral part of the great cultural project of Sharjah.

She explained that the festival has turned into a unique model in the Arab cultural scene that celebrates the cinema of children, teenagers and young people and opens doors for talented people so that they can express their artistic and creative ideas. express, noting that the festival’s competition strengthens its value as an incubator for cinematic talent after the films succeed in attracting the attention of jury members and the public thanks to the quality and its diversity in its subjects, its stories, and the artistic and aesthetic levels that reflect reality, which shows the commitment of the filmmakers to present the best work.

Sheikha Jawaher revealed that the festival, in collaboration with its partners, has enabled this year’s winning films to be screened on all major streaming platforms, including ” Apple,” “Amazon,” “Netflix,” “Hulu,” “Roku,” and others, indicate that this step comes within the framework of supporting a house -image and its makers and providing the audience with a unique viewing experience to enjoy a group of independent works of art, he appreciated the great role played by his work teams and volunteers in promoting the activities of the festival.

The 11th edition of the festival, which reflected the richness and vitality of the cultural movement in Sharjah, was a success, as it was able to attract more than 50,000 visitors to watch, over 5 days, 100 films was carefully selected from more than 90. countries, including Zimbabwe, which participated for the first time in the festival, which attracted a group A wide range of cinematic works that represented the Sultanate of Oman, Egypt , France, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, South Korea, Spain and Germany.

While the “Green Carpet” stage hosted 3 films that were shown for the first time in the Middle East, with Palestine marked as the first guest of honor for the festival, which showed a group of Palestinian films as well as organizing a series of workshops inspired by Palestinian History and heritage.

At the closing ceremony, Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi honored the members of the judging committees, collaborators, trainers, promising referees, volunteers, supporters, participants and supporters of the festival.

Sharjah (Al-Ittihad)

The activities of the eleventh edition of the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth began yesterday, which is being held under the patronage of the wife of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, President of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah In the presence of Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Head of Government Relations Department in Sharjah, Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, High the director of the Fann Foundation and the festival, and a group of artists, directors, workers in the film department, and guests of honor from the UAE and the world, especially the artist Yousra, And the artist Hoda Hussein , artist Jaber Naghmoush, artist Ahmed Al Jasmi, artist Shajoun, and others.
At the ceremony, held at the Sharjah Academy of Performing Arts, the “Guest of Honor” campaign was launched, where Palestine was chosen as the first guest of the festival, in celebration of diversity, heritage, and his contribution to wealth. Arab cinema. the changes that came with it, which allowed it to confirm its presence in several international film festivals and compete for the Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category.

Building a creative generation
Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi confirmed that the festival continues its journey aimed at raising a creative generation that adheres to identity, culture, heritage and social values, which reflect the Emirate of Sharjah’s vision and goals her big cultural project. She said: “The festival celebrates the great work of cinema in the arms of Sharjah, which has committed itself to supporting children and worked to raise its standard and prepare for the future, the introducing the views of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, and his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, as they continue to work to raise the intellectual, cultural and creative awareness of children and youth , and build their personalities by empowering, supporting and integrating them into the development and construction process.
Sheikha Jawaher expressed her pride in choosing Palestine as the guest of honor for the festival, and said, “For the first time, Palestine is the guest of honor at the festival, presenting itself to us with the old authentic -her identity, its Arabic origin, and its cinematic. films, which have always been evidence of the place and the people, with their stories and details of their lives, to be embedded in all our memories.”

Dreams and intentions
For his part, Emirati artist Abdullah bin Haider said, “The Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth reflects the spirit of art and creativity, and over the years it has been successful in proving its ability to shine and renew, and she has become a bridge. connecting the dreams and ambitions of our youth and the film industry and its wide range, and benefiting from their energy.” “And their ideas shape the future.”

“Tell them what’s going to happen.”
During the ceremony, the guests of the festival watched the scenes of the documentary drama “They Tell Me What Says”, where the director, Omar Walid, indicated that the idea of ​​his film was inspired by the nature of the situations currently in the Gaza Strip. , and the destruction he sees as a result of the ongoing war there, emphasizing the need to use our soft power to give our voice to the world.

Achievement award
At the opening ceremony a group of artists were crowned with the Lifetime Achievement Award, at the level of the Emirates, the Gulf, and the Arab region, namely: Emirati artist Jaber Naghmoush, Kuwaiti artist Hoda Hussein , and the Egyptian artist Yousra, in appreciating their achievements and their contribution to the enrichment of art in general, through the works they presented Drama, theatrical and cinematic work that left a clear sign of Arab memory.

90 movies
The current edition of the festival includes the screening of more than 90 films, carefully selected from more than 70 countries, including Zimbabwe, which is participating for the first time in the festival , which this year was able to attract a wide range of cinematic works. , representing the Sultanate of Oman, Egypt, France, Iran and Russia And the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Palestine, South Korea, Spain and Germany, while the “Green Carpet” stage is hosting 3 films shown for the first time in the Middle East. region, directed by the Kuwaiti film “Amakor”, directed by Ahmed Al-Khodary, and featuring Khaled Amin, Samah, Hussein Al-Shirazi, and the film “The Professor” directed by Farah Nabulsi, and the adventure film “Diplodocus” directed by Wojtek Wauszek, and produced by Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Festival jury committees
The jury members of the festival have been announced, which includes around 18 directors and experts from different countries of the world, and the most prominent of them: the artist Shajoun Al-Hajri, Muhammad Al-Awbathani, Sebastian Reichhold, Hanna Atallah, Razan Taqsh, Soudad Kaadan, Jitendra Misher, Susan Johnston, Ahmed Zein, and others, who will be involved in evaluating films that compete for the various awards of the festival, taking including: “Student-made Films,” which will see 19 competing films, the “Short Narrative Films” category, which will include 11 films, the “Arabic Short Narrative Films” category, the “Animated Short Films” category , and the category “Animated Short Films” “Feature Animation Films”, the “Writing Narrative Films”, and the category “Documentary Films”, and 20 promising judges will take part in judging the work submitted for the category “Films Made by Children and Young People”, including a group of children and young people who are participating for the first time. in the festival.