The 5th Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF)’s 6-day celebration of cinema and the media arts concluded with a well-attended crowd from the UAE and across the region to its film screenings, workshops, celebrity meet-and-greets, competitions, and numerous other activities.

The festival came to an end with a closing gala on Friday evening (13 October) at the Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre, Sharjah, attended by the festival’s jury members, SICFF organisers from FUNN – Sharjah Media Arts for Youth and Children, filmmakers, directors, producers, social media influencers, and movie stars.

Committed to telling the stories that cater to the younger generations through film, the internationally-recognised film festival showcased a total of 124 feature and short films, and animations from 31 countries this year, of which 30 screenings were local productions.

Addressing the audience present at the closing ceremony, Sheikha Jawaher Bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN and SICFF, said: “The arts have taught us that there is no limit to dreams, and at FUNN nothing stops us from providing all that is necessary for the new generations to develop their craft and advance towards bigger and brighter creative horizons. I am deeply grateful for your continued support and presence because you were integral to the festival’s success.” 

An elaborate awards ceremony was organised to recognise all winning films at SICFF 2017, jury members, child jurors, workshop trainers, sponsors and volunteers for contributing to this event’s success.

Among SICFF 2017’s seven best film categories, the award for the ‘Best Child Made Film’ went to “Between Day & Night” directed by Antoni Malecki, Anna Bloem, Maaike Bloem and Filip Aleksanrowicz. The ‘Best Student Film’ was won by “Charlie's Buck Teeth” directed by Esther Lalanne. In the category of ‘Best Short GCC Film’, director Nada Almojadedi scooped the award for her film “Zaina's Cake”. The Best International Film award was won by “Riceballs” directed by Shingo Usami.

The remaining three categories included ‘Best Animation Film’ won by “The Pocket Man” directed by Ana Chubinidze; ‘Best Documentary Film’ won by Emilio Martí López for his film “Hello – Marhaba”; and to “The Day My Father Became a Bush” that won Nicole van Kilsdonk ‘Best Feature Film’ award.

Jury members of all the above-mentioned award categories were felicitated for their insights and efforts in selecting the best films. For the first time in the history of SICFF,  a 37 member child jury was selected to contribute to the film selection process. They received awards too.

The event was supported by Crescent Enterprises (Gold Sponsor), Gulftainer (Silver Sponsor), Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (Silver Sponsor) Emirates (Official Airline) and Centro (Hospitality Partner).

Awards were given out to the numerous workshop trainers who flew down from around the world, and finally the festival’s team of volunteers who worked night and day to contribute to the festival’s success.

SICFF’s workshops and screenings will carry on in Kalba, Dibba Al Hisn and Khorfakkan from October 15-31, while the movie screenings only will continue in Al Dhaid, Al Madam, Al Hamyria and Al Bataeh from November 5-16.

Across the six days, festival goers also had the opportunity to get up-close with distinguished film and media personalities from around the world. Organisers say they have already started planning the next edition.

Through SICFF and its other initiatives, FUNN aims to nurture future generations of creative artists in media and film and promote new works made by the UAE’s young filmmakers at international film festivals and conferences worldwide. Its larger goal is to foster talent through events locally and internationally and to form a close-knit network of talented young people who can share experiences and expertise on a global scale.