Thirty-four films will be making their Middle-Eastern premiere at the sixth edition of Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF 2018), which is commencing on October 14th until the 19th. These selected premieres feature a good variety of genres from across the world. Organised by FUNN, SICFF has taken a significant step towards offering filmmakers a creative and nurturing platform to reach audiences with their work.

During the opening ceremony, ‘The Giraffe’ a feature film that was shot in Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany will be screened. Directed by Barbara Bredero, the film tackles the story of a special friendship that gets tougher to manage as one of the them heads to kindergarten. It’s a heart-warming story about the love that exists between a boy named Patterson and Raff – his Giraffe. Another feature film will be making its premiere titled, ‘Glasses’ from Iran. It’s a story about the duo of brother and sister who takes care of their sick grandma and must overcome all kinds of obstacles to fulfil their responsibility.

Aside from feature films, few students are also marking their work in the Middle East with wonderful shorts. From Ireland, ‘Growing Alice’ is a story about a girl transitioning into a woman and all this is portrayed from the perspective of her mirror on the wall. From Lebanon, an animation about two completely different people who share something beautiful with the title, ‘Bloom’ shouldn’t be missed. From France, shorts ranging from science fiction to comedy will be premiered. First there is ‘Children of Neptus,’ a science-fiction, where a dystopic world without water is depicted; ‘Temptation’, is an animated-comedy; ‘The Curiosity Show,’ a thriller; ‘GP-to’, a drama; ‘Overrun’, an animation; and lastly, a fantasy where everything is about being symmetrical titled, ‘Twin Islands.’ From USA, ‘Pet Peeved,’ is a comedy that has a boss-bunny; ‘Aki’, a drama set in feudal Kyoto, Japan about a servant girl and her dog; and ‘The Chocolate Soldier,’ a short war film. There is also a short drama from Russia titled ‘To My Sister,’ and an Egyptian documentary comedy titled, ‘A Journey in search of Abul Arabi.’

From the category of International Shorts, there is a wonderful film from Spain, ‘Room to the Stars,’ that narrates a tale of a sick grandmother who requests her granddaughter to bring back the night time stars that are hidden throughout the house. There is also an Indian short where a broom spells trouble for its owner, titled ‘The Black Cat.’ An Iranian short film and tackles a social issue titled, ‘Soul Mate.’ Lastly, a short from Italy where a stranger bond with a boy through his art and its titled, ‘The Line.’

In the animation category, there is a long list of premieres that seeks to warm and titillate audience’s soul. From France, ‘A Bit Lost,’ narrates a tale of a lost baby owl trying to find its way home. From Germany, there are a range of comedies, ‘Ant’, ‘Penguin’, ‘Lion’, ‘Patchwork Mole’, and ‘Patchwork Dog.’ All the way from Belgium a children’s tale titled, ‘BaDaBoo: The Boat Trip.’ From Russia, there is ‘The Kitten From Lizyukov Street,’ and a tale about a curious and imaginative crocodile, ‘Coco’s Day.’ The remainder three films are, ‘Geno’ from Georgia, ‘Koyaa – Wild Sunbed’ from Slovenia, and ‘Tito & The Birds’ from Brazil.

In the documentary category, we have the story of an ‘Elephant Trainer’, from Russia where an explosion one evening startles one of the elephants and she flees the campsite. Her trainer goes on a journey to find her before havoc is wreaked. Another two documentary from Russia are titled, ‘Strangers,’ where honesty transcends linguistic barriers and ‘Teacher,’ where students are requested to not get lost in the busyness of lives and find ways to be kind to strangers.

The films will be screened at Al Jawaher Reception & Convention Centre and Zero 6 Mall, Al Majaz Waterfront, Al Zora and Last Exit in Al Khawaneej, Dubai. Information about the dates and timings of the movies are available on the website www.sicff.ae and through the social networking sites through hashtag #sicff18.

The FUNN Establishment 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 workshops 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.