FUNN, a Sharjah-based organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting media arts learning among children and youth in the UAE, will be organising four exciting discussion sessions during ‘Let’s Have FUNN’ –a five-day virtual film and media event set to be held from October 12– 16. The sessions will be led by a line-up of renowned Arab and international artists, photographers and poets who will share their inspiring artistic and cultural journeys with the audience.

Through the virtual event to be live-streamed on the Zoom platform, FUNN aims to keep movie lovers up to date with the latest creative and pioneering efforts of leading filmmakers and engage them with the latest developments in the media arts industry, from the comfort and safety of their homes.

The first session, titled What’s your muse?, will be led by artists AyshaSaif Al Hemrani, Ali Kashwani, Saeed Alemadi, and Maitha Hamdan, who is both an artist and a fashion designer. They will shine light on how having a role model can fuel someone’s creativity and motivate young leaners to hone their skills and not give up on their passions. Through the course of the conversation, these experts will talk about role models in their own lives, who have inspired and shaped them both on personal and artistic fronts.

The hour-long session in Arabic to be held on October 13 at 9:30 pm, will be moderated by Hind Algargawi.

Titled Acting Performances, the second session will be held on Wednesday, October 14 at 8pm, will host Emirati actor and producer Samira Ahmad, Kuwaiti actors Ahmed Iraj, and Khaled Amin. Speaking with television host Alyaa Al Mansoori, the session’s guests will detail their personal journeys and experiences in building their acting careers – from small gigs in acting and script writing, to employing method acting to pay different characters in both film and television, and more. The hourlong session will be conducted in the Arabic language.

On Thursday, October 15, media personality Yasser Bin Mohammed will moderate the next session titled Photographers’Challenges. The session, which will be held in Arabic at 8 pm, will see the participation of Emirati artist Ahlam AlAhmad, photographer Mona AlTamimi, and Emirati photographer Ola Allouz, recipient of a Gold Medal from the Photographic Society of America. These accomplished photographers will talk about the unique challenges they faced working on different projects worldwide. The session will also seek to educate its audiences on the power of photography to relate societal issues to the world.

The Effect of the Pandemic on the Film Industry will be the final session on the closing day of Let’s Have FUNN. Moderating the discussion, Pulse95 Radio presenter Sally Mousa, will engage Ahmed Al Mulla, Saudi poet, founder, and director of the Saudi Film Festival; Giulio Vita, Co-founder of La Guarimba Film Festival in Italy; and Debbie Kristiansen, CEO of Novo Cinemas, in the all-important discussion on what ways have realities of the film and entertainment industry have changed since the Covid-19 outbreak. The English language session will elaborate on how the pandemic has impacted the production of films, their content and messaging, and highlight how new opportunities can still be created in the industry.

The session will be held at 8 pm on Friday, October 16.

For more information and to register for the workshops, log on towww.funn.ae.