7th Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth kicks-off this October

The seventh edition of the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth, SIFF 2019, is set to kick-off this October.

The first film festival in the UAE and the Arab region to celebrate children’s and youth cinema is scheduled for 13th-18th October 2019, is set to offer young cinema enthusiasts a unique opportunity to interact with top Arab and international actors and filmmakers, and enjoy dozens of extraordinary films from around the world created for, by and about children and young people.

This was announced by festival organiser FUNN, a Sharjah-based organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting the media arts for young children and the youth of Sharjah and the UAE.

SIFF 2019 is one of the most anticipated cultural events being organised by Sharjah this year, in celebration of its recognition by UNESCO as the World Book Capital 2019. The main focus of the film festival will be on book-inspired cinema.

FUNN has expanded the child-made film category to Best Child- and Youth-made Film, in a bid to increase this category’s outreach to more young filmmakers. The remaining six categories include Best Student-made Film, Best GCC Short Film, Best International Short Film, Best Animation Film, Best Documentary Film, and Best Feature Film.

"We launched a platform six years ago with a goal to educate the children and youth of the UAE about film and cinema, inspire their imaginations and promote intellectual development through their consumption of quality content. Today, the festival has transformed into this exceptional artistic space, capable of changing the local and Arab film scene through its offerings," said Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN and SIFF.

Al Qasimi added, "The event follows the directives of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, which stress the meaningful inclusion and representation of children and youth in society, and his belief that enlightened individuals play a key role in the development of their societies. To this end, we call on the UAE’s young community to come enjoy SIFF and experience the power of cinema to unleash their creativity."

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