Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual independent film festival returns for its seventh edition

Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual festival of independent and experimental filmmaking returns for its seventh edition this year. Taking place from 15 to 24 November 2024, Sharjah Film Platform 7 (SFP7) continues to present transformative, compelling and category-defying films to communities in Sharjah and beyond.

SFP7 takes place in Mirage City Cinema, the open-air theatre in Sharjah’s historical quarter, and VOX Cinemas, City Centre Al Zahia.

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 Competition section includes documentary and fiction films, all UAE premieres that have been nominated by an international committee of filmmakers and industry professionals. Vying for the Sharjah Film Platform Awards, this year’s selection features a wide range of films from different parts of the world, including Myanmar, Bhutan, Rwanda, Nigeria, Colombia, Bahrain and Palestine. Film screenings will be followed by Q&A sessions with the participating directors. 

Highlights of the Competition section include: Kamal Al Jafari’s documentary A Fidai Film (2024) which seeks to reclaim the looted memories of Palestinian history by using archival footage; 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 Never Cries (2024), ablack and white film interweaving personal and political histories in current day Vietnam; and The Great Yawn of History (2024) by Iranian filmmaker AliyarRasti, 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: From Ground Zero (2024),an anthology of 22 short films created by filmmakers from Gaza; andshort film Upshot (2024), directed by Maha Haj, which tells a story of a solitary couple and the aftermaths of a painful past.

The Director in Focus segment honours regional directors for their lifetime achievements in global cinema. This year, SFP7 presents 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 filmOh Father, I Am Youssef (2024), Malas will offer a masterclass on the role of storytelling in cinema.

Presented in parallel with the film screenings, a series of public programmes provides opportunities for learning and gathering. This year’s programme focuses on notions of modernity in new African and Asian film, cinema as resistance and resilience from Palestine and beyond, as well as innovations in documentary filmmaking, among other topics. 

Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, 2018. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation

Also part of this year’s SFP is the Sharjah Film Platform Feature Fund that will award 500,000 AED to one UAE-based scriptwriter, director or lead/executive producer for the completion of an English-or-Arabic-language narrative feature currently under production. Formerly the Pitching Forum, the strengthened fund now provides more comprehensive and robust support to filmmakers in the country.

Organised by Sharjah Art Foundation, SFP7 has been made possible with the generous support of the UAE Ministry of Culture, Sharjah Media City Free Zone (Shams), VOX Cinemas and Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation.

For more information on Sharjah Film Platform 7, visit sharjahart.org.

Partners and Supporters

Organised by Sharjah Art Foundation, SFP7 has been made possible with the generous support of Ministry of Culture, Sharjah Media City Free Zone (Shams), VOX Cinemas and Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation.

About Sharjah Film Platform

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—which includes 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.

About Sharjah Art Foundation

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.

About Sharjah

Sharjah is the third largest of the seven 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.

Media contact

Alyazeyah Al Marri 
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org
+971 (0)6 5444113