Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF) has successfully concluded its visit to the 70th Cannes Film Festival, which took place in the South of France from May 17-28. The organisation, which hosts film screenings and movie activities for children and young people, attended the prestigious event to meet with senior industry figures and to assess the array of cinematic offerings taking place alongside its famous red carpet.

Organised by FUNN - a Sharjah-based government entity dedicated to promoting media arts among young people in Sharjah and the UAE – SICFF travelled to Cannes to review children’s movie screenings at the festival and to bring big name premieres to the UAE.  

“Each year, the Cannes Film Festival affords SICFF an invaluable opportunity to both showcase its home-grown movie expertise to the industry’s major players and to bring major premieres to the UAE for inclusion in its own market. This year’s event had an extra frisson in consideration of it being its 70th anniversary and we were able to capitalise on the buzz to both make our presence known and to find out about everything going on in the industry at a global level. For us, the festival represents more than just a market place for films – it is an important focal point for cultural exchange and for building bridges of communication,” said Sheikha Jawaher Bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN and SICFF.

Possible future collaborations with movie agencies and production houses also took up a large part of SICFF’s participation at Cannes. Included in its schedule were meetings with Image pictures, Arclight Films, Soureh Cinema Organisation, Mogador Film, Italia Film, Eye International, Paradigm Agency and Lionsgate. They also met with representatives from CineKid children’s film festival and the talent companies United Talent Agency and ARG talent.

The dissemination of culture and the sharing of experiences was also a focal point of SICFF’s participation at Cannes. Sheikha Jawaher attended the Arab Film Institute film discussion panel in the Jordanian and Moroccan pavilion, while SICFF team members attended the Immersive Summit’s discussion panel on Virtual Reality and new technology to find out about CGI and other special effects developments in the industry.

The delegation also hosted a reception at the UAE pavilion to introduce SICFF to around 200 guests; including filmmakers, producers, directors, film distribution agencies and others from the film industry

A key highlight of SICFF’s attendance at the 70th Cannes Film Festival saw Sheikha Jawaher honoured from Indywood Film Carnival in recognition of her contribution to the global film industry and her pioneering vision to develop an Arab generation that excels in the media arts. The award was presented to her by representatives of organisation following her appointment as a member of its International Expert Committee.

“Through SICFF and FUNN’s creative workshops and activities, FUNN strives to realise its vision of empowering younger generations of the UAE and the Arab region with art and media literacy initiatives that will enable them to share their experiences on a prestigious global platform. During the Cannes Film Festival we were able to meet with a number of producers and production houses and to review cinematic offerings for our own festival. We are looking forward to future collaborations with international film industry leaders at similar events throughout the year,” said Sheikha Jawaher Bint Abdullah Al Qasimi.

Launched in 2013, SICFF takes place every October in Sharjah and plays an essential role in bringing international films and new media content for children and young people in the region. The festival aims to engage youth with world cultures and works to promote peace and tolerance, as well as show through the medium of film how people from different cultures, religions and backgrounds can happily coexist.

FUNN aims to nurture a future generation of creative artists in media and film, and promotes new media works and films made by children and young filmmakers of the UAE at international film festivals, and conferences worldwide. Its larger goal is to foster talent through these festivals, conferences and workshops locally and internationally, and form a close-knit network of talented young people who can share experiences and expertise on a global scale.