Sharjah Art Foundation announces the programme for the seventh edition of Sharjah Film Platform, including a wide range of documentary and fiction screenings as well as a series of talks. The annual film festival continues to present transformative, compelling and category-defying films to communities in Sharjah and beyond.
Taking place from 15 to 24 November 2024, Sharjah Film Platform 7 (SFP7) will take place at the Mirage City Cinema, the open-air theatre in Sharjah’s historical quarter, and VOX Cinemas, City Centre Al Zahia.
Vying for the Sharjah Film Platform Awards, this year’s Competition section features a diverse selection of films from different parts of the world, including Myanmar, Bhutan, Rwanda, Nigeria, Colombia, Bahrain and Palestine. An international jury comprising of industry professionals will select the award-winning films in four categories: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Fiction Feature and Fiction Short.
Competition Section
The 10-day festival starts with Kamal Aljafari’s documentary A Fidai Film (2024) which seeks to reclaim the looted memories of Palestinian history through archival footage. Other highlights include: Places of the Soul (2023) by Hamida Issa, which follows an environmental expedition to Antarctica while juxtaposing its icy landscape with the deserts of Qatar, the filmmaker’s home country; Pham Ngoc Lan’s fiction film Cu li không bao gió khóc (Cu Li Never Cries) (2024), a black and white film interweaving personal and political histories in current day Vietnam; and The Great Yawn of History (2024) by Iranian filmmaker Aliyar Rasti, a story about a middle-aged religious man who goes on a quest for hidden treasure.
Among the roster of films are two supported by Sharjah Art Foundation: Upshot (2024), directed by Maha Haj, tells the story of a solitary couple and the aftermath of their painful past, and From Ground Zero (2024), an anthology of 22 short films by filmmakers from Gaza, which will conclude this year’s edition of the film festival.
Director in Focus Section
This year’s Director in Focus section spotlights the work of auteur Mohamad Malas, renowned for his moving films chronicling the modern history of Syria and its neighbouring countries. Along with the screening of The Dream (1987), The Night (1992) and the global premiere of his latest film Oh Father, I Am Youssef (2024), Malas will offer a masterclass on the role of storytelling in cinema.
Talks Programme
Presented in parallel with the film screenings, a series of public programmes provides opportunities for learning and gathering. This year’s lineup focuses on notions of modernity in African and Asian film, cinema as resistance and resilience from Palestine and beyond, as well as innovations in documentary filmmaking.
To see the full list of Sharjah Film Platform 7 screenings and talks, and to book tickets, visit sharjahart.org.
Sharjah Film Platform (SFP) is an annual festival of independent cinema and experimental filmmaking where audiences can discover new approaches to film and art. The 10-day event, including a range of regional and international films, talks by filmmakers and industry professionals, workshops and gatherings, is centred around Mirage City Cinema, the open-air theatre in Sharjah’s historical quarter.
Organised by Sharjah Art Foundation, SFP foregrounds recent cinematic achievements by international filmmakers and artists, noteworthy classics from around the region as well as experimental films that challenge the idea of what film practice is today.
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. The Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.
Established in 2009 to expand programmes beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the Foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organisations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The Foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programmes in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centres. A growing collection reflects the Foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realisation of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.
Sharjah Art Foundation is a legally independent public body established by Emiri Decree and supported by government funding, grants from national and international nonprofits and cultural organisations, corporate sponsors and individual patrons. Hoor Al Qasimi serves as President and Director. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Sharjah is the third largest of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reflecting the deep commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education embraced by its ruler, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. In 1998, it was named UNESCO's 'Arab Capital of Culture' and has been designated the UNESCO ‘World Book Capital’ for the year 2019.
Alyazeyah Al Marri
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org
+971 (0)6 5444113
