The eighth edition of the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFF) will open tomorrow (Sunday) under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA).

Taking place from October 10-15, this year’s edition will be organised virtually by FUNN, a Sharjah-based organisation dedicated to promoting media arts among children and youth in the UAE.

Themed ‘Think Film’, the 2021 edition will offer more than 80 films from 38 countries, including 6 world premieres, 34 Middle East and four GCC premieres, and four films being shown for the first time in the UAE.

SIFF 2021’s line-up of films across seven categories – child and youth films, GCC short films, international short films, animation, documentary, feature and student films – will be available for viewing to audiences across the world. The winners will be announced at the festival’s closing ceremony.

SIFF will also host 34 workshops and five panel discussions in English as well as Arabic, presented by a host of renowned filmmakers, on various aspects of filmmaking including script writing, animated cartoon sketching, basics of photography, as well as production and direction. The panels will discuss opportunities available for new generations to showcase their vision to the world through the medium.

Leading international as well as regional institutions, including Nikon, Emirates Schools Establishment, Sharjah educational council, Oman Film and Theater Society, Majid TV and Creative Lab, will facilitate the workshops

The festival activities include five dialogue sessions that will discuss opportunities available for young generations to create films that focus on issues concerning them. The filmmakers Khalid Al Mahmood, the filmmaker and creative consultant Mahmoud Kaabour, the Director Sherif El Bendary and Hana Kazim, Manager of Local Film and Television at Image Nation, to discuss the state of ‘Independent films’ at the inaugural dialogue session on October 12 moderated by the actor and film director Nawaf Al Janahi.

This will be followed by ‘The evolution of animation in film production’ on October 13, with the filmmaker Fadel Al Muhairi,the filmmaker Mohamed Ahmed Fikree and the film animator Brian Ferguson discussing the latest techniques in the field, moderated by the junior juror Batoul Al-Tamimi.

The first session on October 14 will see the filmmakers Rihana Al Hashemi, producer Afra Al Marar, and Rasha Amer, director and founder of She Film, on ‘The Role of Women in Film’, moderated by the media presenter Asma Hassouni. Meanwhile, the director and writer Mustafa Abbas, and Maria Christina Villasenor, Director of Programming – New York International Children Film Festival, will discuss ‘The Future of Filmmaking’ in the second session of the day, moderated by the media presenter Balqees Saber

On October 15, Amer Salmeen, Founder and general manager of Al Ain Film Festival; Ahmed Al Mulla, Director and Founder of the Saudi Film Festival; and the cinematographic Masoud Amralla Al Ali, former, will participate in an exciting discussion on ‘Role of festivals in promoting films’, the concluding session of the festival, moderated by the junior juror Batoul Al-Tamimi.

For more information on the festival’s activities and its registration process, please visit the SIFF website www.siff.ae.