Sharjah Film Platform is a new film festival organised and hosted by Sharjah Art Foundation. The festival aims to support film production in the UAE and the surrounding region, and to also provide “a critical platform for both established and aspiring filmmakers”.

The festival will take place between January 18-26 and the line up is a showcase of films from around the world, short and full feature length, including documentaries, experimental and classics. All non-English language films will have English subtitles. Tickets AED 15 and there’s a discounted rate if you buy 10 or more tickets. The complete line up can be found here and you can buy tickets from here.

I’ve programmed 3 films directed by Youssef Chahine for this festival, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death (I wrote about his films here recently).

The are more than 140 films grouped into 23 Programs, each program will be screened twice. The screenings will take place in 4 different and slightly unique venues within central Sharjah, so it’s worth checking out if you are not familiar with them. The last two and within walking distance.

Additionally, there are several talks/workshops which are free to attend:

January 18:

January 19

January 20

January 25-26

Multimedia Workshop: Researching and Documenting Place

The two short films selected for the opening are the winning participants of the annual Short Film Production Grant, Laymoon (dir. Abdulrahman Al Madani) and Maryam (dir. Mohammed Al Hammed). Both filmmakers will discuss their films after the screenings on opening night.

The following is the schedule and the line up. Click on the program number to read more about the films and to buy tickets. I also included when the repeat screenings will take place.

We’ve not really had a festival like this that has a varied selection of experimental and non-experimental films and I’m looking forward to lots of film discoveries during this event.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18

MIRAGE CITY CINEMA

Program 1: Opening night at 9pm (and on Saturday, January 26, 3pm in Sharjah Institute for Theatrical Arts)

Laymoon
Director: Abdulrahman Al Madani, 2019, UAE, 16 min
A neglected housewife’s constant attempts to regain her short-tempered husband’s interest in their marriage prove futile. Influenced by her best friend, she realises her efforts need to stretch beyond a wholesome meal.

Maryam
Director: Mohammed Al Hammadi, 2019, UAE, 22 min
An ambitious young Emirati’s dream to pursue an acting career in New York is challenged by the sudden of her father and the opposition of her mother, who wants her to marry.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19

Cairo Station

Asphalt

Wudu

Spaces of Exception

AFRICA HALL

6.00pm - 7.30pm: Programme 3 (and on Tuesday, January 22, 9.00pm-10.30pm)

Cairo Station, Youssef Chahine, 1958, Egypt, 73 min

9.00pm - 12.00am: Programme 4 (and on Tuesday, January 22, 3.00pm-4.55pm)

Osha's Gift, Hind Abdullah, 2016, UAE, 8 min
My Name Is Nour, Haisam Abdelhamed, 2018, Egypt, 14 min
New Year's Eve, Salah Elgazzar, 2016, Egypt, 11 min
Will they make it? Baitna Cheshire, Muzamil Elrayah, 2017, Sudan, 82 min

SHARJAH INSTITUTE FOR THEATRICAL ARTS

6.00pm - 8.20pm: Programme 5 (and on Wednesday, January 23, 9.00pm-11.20pm)

Dimmed Light, Waleed Alshehhi, 2017, UAE, 8 min
A Regular Day, Abdulla Al Benhumdah, 2018, Saudi Arabia, 6 min
Stone on the Road, Mohammed Bloshi, 2016, Kuwait, 8 min
Chess Turn, Ramy Ayman, 2017, Egypt, 15 min
Human, Issam Taachit, 2017, Algeria, 7 min
Balloons, Mohamed Mokhtar, 2018, Egypt, 6 min
Straight Outta Cairo, Mohamed Higazy, 2018, Egypt, 15 min
In the Name of God 333, Abdelrahman Nached, 2018, Egypt, 5 min
Asphalt, Ali Hammoud, 2016, Lebanon, 70 min

9.00pm - 11.25pm: Programme 6 (and on Wednesday, January 23, 6.00pm-8.25pm)

Wudu, Ahmed Hasan Ahmed, 2017, UAE, 22 min
Birth, Abdulla Hasan, 2017, UAE, 82 min
My Father’s House, Noora Al Musallam, 2018, Kuwait, 14 min
Female Scream, Nasser Altamimi, 2014, UAE, 16 min
Madness of Fame, Aly Kassem, 2018, UAE, 7 min

MIRAGE CITY CINEMA

9.00pm - 11.15pm: Programme 2 (and on Saturday, January 26 in Sharjah Institute for Theatrical Arts)

Spaces of Exception, Matt Peterson & Malek Rasamny, 2018, USA, Lebanon, Palestine, 90 min

SUNDAY, JANUARY 20

I Have a Picture: Film No. 1001 in the Life of the Oldest Extra in the World

The Land

Under the Sky

Ward B12

AFRICA HALL

6.00pm - 8.45pm: Programme 8 (and on Thursday, January 24, 9.00pm-11.45pm)

Leave Us Be, Sara Aboubakr Tallawi, 2016, Egypt, 13 min
Not Yet, Bandar Sawai, 2017, Jordan, 17 min
The Father Might Die at the End, Abdulrahman Salem, 2017, Egypt, 7min
Sama, Hind Anabtawi, 2017, UAE, 21 min
Mohammed Rafi Fan Blog, Nihaal Faizal, 2017, India, 31 min
I Have a Picture: Film No. 1001 in the Life of the Oldest Extra in the World, Mohamed Zedan, 2018, Egypt, 72 min

9.00pm - 11.10pm: Programme 9 (and on January 24, 6.00pm - 8.00pm)

The Land , Youssef Chahine, 1969, Egypt, 130 min

AL HAMRA CINEMA

6.00pm - 8.30pm: Programme 10 (and on Wednesday, January 23, 9.00pm-11.30pm)

Eye Test, Sudha Padmaja Francis, 2017, India, 15 min
A Stroll Down Sunflower Lane, Mayye Zayed, 2016, Egypt, 14 min
Cursed, Samer Houssein, 2009, Egypt, 3 min
Big Willow, Jared Katsiane, 2013, USA, 11 min
Cherries, Dubravka Turic, 2017, Croatia, 29 min
Wintry Spring, Mohamed Kamel, 2015, Egypt, 15 min
The Queen's Pink, Jayant Dasgupta, 2016, India, 15 min
Alexandria, Ahmed Tag Mohamed, 2018, Egypt, 6 min
Under the Sky, Yamen Abd Alnour, 2015, Egypt, 40 min

9.00pm - 11.30pm: Programme 11 (and on January 22, 6.00pm-8.30pm)

TRAMA, Will Fredo, 2018, Germany, 8 min
Le Marché Oriental, James Webb, 2008, South Africa, 3 min
The dust doesn't want to come out of the Esqueleto, Daniel Santiso & Max William Morais, 2018, Brazil, 20 min
Summer Before Springs End, Terence Price II, 2016, USA, 9 min
How to Make an Image, Eshan Rafi, 2018, Canada, 16 min
Radio Ghetto Relay (Alessandra Ferrini, 2016, UK, 16 min
There Was Nothing, Yaminay Chaudhri, 2017, Pakistan, 15 min
Home Abroad, Boan Wang, 2017, Belgium, 11 min
1991 (Saif Alsaegh, 2018, USA, 12 min
A Vacation, Deniz Eroglu, 2018, Turkey, 29 min
And What Is the Summer Saying?, Payal Kapadia, 2018, India, 23 min

SHARJAH INSTITUTE FOR THEATRICAL ARTS

6.00pm - 8.30pm: Programme 12 (and on Tuesday, January 22, 9.00pm-11.35pm)

Time Spy, Sun Xun, 2015, China, 10 min
Print More Newspapers, Youngjae Lih, 2015, Sweden, 8 min
Chronoscope, 1952 or 1953, 11pm. (I), Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck, 2017, Germany, 34 min
Tonight's Programme, Ali Eval, 2017, Iraq, 15 min
2001: Pressure Makes Diamonds, Kazim Rashid, 2018, UK, 13 min
Unexploded Ordnance, Sikarnt Skoolisariyaporn, 2018, Canada, 30 min
If I Steal the Sea from You, Ro Caminal, 2018, Spain, 16 min
Your father was born 100 years old, and so was the Nakba, Razan Allah, 2017, Lebanon, 7 min
Necessity Has No Law, Ahmed Hamed, 2017, Egypt, 6 min
As My Father Was, Muslim Habib, 2018, Iraq, 14 min

9.00pm - 11.30pm: Programme 13 (and on January 25, 6.00pm - 8.30pm)

N.O.M.A. - Ernesto Shikhani, Carlos Manuel Cabral da Silva Nunes, 2004, Portugal, 16 min
Ward B12, Becky Beaker, 2018, Zambia, 18 min
Arise, Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen, 2013, India, 40 min
Who is Now Lying, Muhamad Erlangga Fauzan, 2017, Indonesia, 72 min

MIRAGE CITY CINEMA

9.00pm - 11.35pm: Programme 7 (and on January 23, 6.00pm—8.35pm in Al Hamra Cinema)

Staying with the Trouble, Altona Larionov, 2018, UK, 14 min
Establishing Eden, Broersen & Lukács, 2016, The Netherlands, 10 min
WHOLY, Andrea Dojmi, 2018, UK, 12 min
Nowhere, Neli Ružić, 2018, Croatia, 18 min
Sisyphus, Driss Aroussi, 2017, France, 12 min
As Sovereign as Love, David K Ross, 2017, Canada, 13 min
KILAUEA: Pele's Domain (JoAnn Gillerman, 2018, USA, 29 min
Tropical Malaise: Prologue (Domingo Castillo, 2017, USA, 19 min
On Familiar Waters, Rita Mahfouz, 2018, Lebanon, 8 min
The Colour of the Current, Rodrigo Luque & Marcelo Sandoval, 2017, Peru, 10 min
Neromanna, Sotiris Tsiganos & Ionian Bisai, 2017, Greece, 9 min

MONDAY, JANUARY 21

Video Home System

The Sixth Day

Reddishblue Memories

Cactus Flower

AFRICA HALL

6.00 - 8.30pm: Programme 15 (and on Thursday, January 24, 9.00pm - 11.30pm in Mirage Cinema)

Naqlah, Yousef Al Bagshi, 2017, Kuwait, 8 min
Petals, Ghofran Gouda, 2018, UK, 8 min
Preemptive Listening (Part 1: The Fork in the Road), Aura Satz, 2018, UK, 9 min
Prototype, Wesley Fawcett Creigh, 2017, USA, 6 min
See More Glass, Ali Heraize, 2018, Canada, 11 min
Baghdad Photographer, Mejd Hameed, 2017, Iraq, 4 min
Shouted from the Rooftops, Beri Shalmashi, 2017, The Netherlands, 7 min
The Color Remains the Same, Ali El-Darsa, 2015, Canada, 13 min
White Time, Radfan Alqirsh, 2012, USA, 9 min
Video Home System, Charlene Bamboat, 2018, Canada, 19 min
Missing My Home, Amjad Kawish Farajie, 2014, Iraq, 5 min
A Room Without Mirrors, Kwang-Ju Son, 2018, South Korea, 11 min
First Day of School, Aram Abdulrahim, 2018, Syria, 8 min
Love (Waddah Alfred, 2017, Syria, 12 min
Souvenir in Exile, Almokhtar Karboua, 2018, Algeria, 31 min

9.00pm - 10.45pm: Programme 16 (and on Saturday, January 26, 3.00pm-4.45pm)

The Sixth Day, Youssef Chahine, 1986, Egypt, 105 min

AL HAMRA CINEMA

6.00pm - 8.25pm: Programme 17 (and on Friday, January 25, 9.00pm-11.25pm in Mirage City Cinema)

Unfinished Business, Bojan Fajfric, 2017, The Netherlands, 18 min
Pangaea, Emma Rozanski, 2015, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 9 min
Encounters with Silence, Janus Victoria, 2016, Japan, 30 min
The Lost Object, Sebastián Díaz Morales, 2016, The Netherlands, 15 min
No, I Was Thinking of Life (CC), Mona Varichon, 2018, USA, 12 min
Madame Cléante Will Not Go To the Graveyard, Pamela Varela, 2016, French Guiana, 39 min
Home Exercises, Sarah Friedland, 2017, USA, 22 min

9.00pm - 11.25pm: Programme 18 (and on Wednesday, January 23, 6.00pm - 8.25pm in Africa Hall)

Lacuna, Marcia Beatriz Granero, 2017, Brazil, 10 min
Cement X, Lene Vollhardt, 2018, Germany, 15 min
Porosity Valley, Portable Holes, Ayoung Kim, 2017, Australia, 21 min
Glitch Noir - Datasifter Prelude, Cody Healey-Connelly, 2015, USA, 3 min
All About Animals: Director’s Panel Pilot Presentation, Cody Ziglar, 2017, USA, 11 min
More Love, More Joy, More Mortgage, Chinar Shah, Leslie Johnson, Smriti Mehra, 2018, UK, 4 min
I’m ± Here, Nadim Choufi, 2018, UAE, 5 min
Fables 1, Wong Ping, 2018, Hong Kong, 13 min
Maula Jutt, Haider Ali Jan, 2015, Pakistan, 4 min
The Units of the World According to Semicolon, YoungEun Kim, 2011, South Korea, 26 min
Fade Out, Abdelrahman Alama, 2017, Egypt, 9 min
Nanaira, Meera Al Qassimi, 2018, UK, 20 min
Nylon, Ahmed Mohsen Mansour, 2016, Saudi Arabia, 2 min
The Man in the Bushes, Vasilios Papaioannu and Emma Piper-Burket, 2017, USA, 6 min

SHARJAH INSTITUTE FOR THEATRICAL ARTS

6.00pm - 8.10pm: Programme 19 (and on Wednesday, January 23, 9.00pm-11.10pm in Mirage City Cinema)

A Crow Has Been Calling For a Whole Day, Liu Yi, 2016, China, 12 min
Stealing Earth, Karan Shrestha, 2018, Nepal, 13 min
A Poetic Truth in a Pathetic Fallacy, Elise Rasmussen, 2018, South Africa, 16 min
When the Body Becomes All Eyes, Anal Shah, 2017, USA, 29 min
Reddishblue Memories, Iván Argote, 2017, France, 12 min
These Silences Are All the Words, Madiha Aijaz, 2018, Pakistan, 15 min
Ghosts Don't Care If You Believe in Them, Arturo Kameya, 2018, The Netherlands, 18 min
I Will Outlive You, Claudia Martínez Garay, 2017, The Netherlands, 16 min
Kings and Thieves, Kianoosh Motallebi , 2018, The Netherlands, 4 min