Sharjah International Film Festival looks to inspire and educate young people

euronews (in English)

The 10th Sharjah International Film Festival showcases the very best in filmmaking for, by and about children and young people.

Transcript

00:00 The special thing about this festival is we're not looking at it as a red carpet kind of

00:07 propaganda, you know, lights and, you know, action and superstars walking on.

00:13 It's mostly about inspiration, education, how to teach those children in the film industry

00:21 how to become from scriptwriters to directors to actors.

00:30 Eighty films from 37 countries.

00:33 The lights went up in style for the 10th edition of the Sharjah International Film Festival

00:39 for Children and Young People.

00:41 Showcasing the very best in filmmaking for, by and about children and young people, the

00:47 festival marked three world premieres as well as the regional premiere of 43 films.

01:06 We chose 80 films to screen this year.

01:09 Now on the other side you also have panel discussions with a lot of people from the

01:14 film industry, either producers or, you know, networks or filmmakers and as well workshops

01:21 that are happening.

01:22 And, of course, because we're always doing this for the children and youth, we always

01:25 have to add a bit of, you know, fun entertainment activity on the side for them as well.

01:30 This year's opening film was an animation called Zoo from director Tariq Al-Rimawi.

01:36 And the subject matter couldn't be more pertinent.

01:39 It's the story of a young boy set against the backdrop of conflict in Palestine.

01:55 My film is about a boy who's looking for his ball inside a war zoo in the world.

02:03 And he finds a little tiger and they became a friend.

02:08 Then they try to find a safe place to play in a war-torn area.

02:12 From my perspective, animation and film in general is not just for entertainment.

02:16 It's also to deliver messages of love, peace and hope, especially about, like, for those

02:20 children who live in a war-torn area, especially in Gaza and Palestine.

02:25 And taking a difficult subject, we usually underestimate the children, like, OK, we have

02:31 to make them just funny films.

02:32 But actually they really, like, think deep when they watch these films and they can argue

02:37 afterwards.

02:39 It's a sentiment echoed by the organizers of the festival, who say they have a responsibility

02:45 to create thought-provoking conversations from their programming.

02:50 Children and the youth in this generation are way smarter.

02:53 They're way open-minded.

02:54 They ask a lot of questions.

02:55 So the films that they watch should answer these questions.

02:59 So we make sure we always have films that talk about social issues, economical issues,

03:07 climate change, refugees, anything that's happening in the world.

03:12 So everything that does happen, we do not sugarcoat it anymore, because if we do, they'll

03:18 watch it somewhere else.

03:19 So I'd rather they watch it in the right platform, where they can meet people and discuss and

03:24 learn and, you know, make a change one day.

03:28 The festival exposes the cultures of the world and offers audiences an understanding of how

03:34 these cultures, religions and backgrounds live together.

03:38 There's a strong emphasis on encouraging local UAE filmmakers to contribute and to make films

03:44 for young people.

03:45 Also, there's a celebration of young regional talent.

03:48 Jan Ramez is an Egyptian child actor and was presented with the Distinguished Speakers

03:54 Award.

03:55 I'm very happy here.

03:57 This is the first time in my life that I participate in a festival and the first time that I've

04:02 received an award at the Sharjah Festival.

04:04 So I'm very happy.

04:09 Attendees are invited to learn a variety of professional skills in a series of expert-led

04:14 workshops which run on the periphery of the week-long festival, from discovering the art

04:20 of storytelling to special effects makeup classes.

04:24 Young children are talented and they are gifted, but they don't know how to bring it on, on

04:29 the surface.

04:30 So, by watching us doing what we do, they discover that they have or we have a passion

04:36 about makeup or about special effects or about like acting skills.

04:44 This festival is an example of unwavering dedication to children and youth and once

04:49 again cements Sharjah's reputation as a capital of culture.

04:54 [Music]

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