175 films to participate in 3rd Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival: FUNN

SHARJAH, 13th August, 2015 (WAM) -- FUNN, the Sharjah-based foundation dedicated to promoting media arts for and among children and youth in the UAE, has announced the participation of 175 films from 20 countries in the third Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival, SICFF, which will be held at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre from October 18th-23rd. The six-day festival, held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, aims to promote media literacy among children and young people in addition to discovering, nurturing and encouraging creative talents while developing the local cinema industry through the creation of a promising generation of talented young filmmakers. Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN and Director of SICFF, said, "This years’ edition has witnessed a significant increase in the number of film entries, thereby reflecting the growing popularity and importance of the festival. We received a total of 286 submissions from 50 countries, but only 175 films were selected to compete for the SICFF awards, compared to 112 films from 35 countries last year." The SICFF Director explained that the film submissions will be subject to evaluation by the jury in order to sort and select the winning entries. The winners will be announced and honoured during the opening ceremony of the 2015 SICFF on October 18th. She referred to accuracy, professionalism and transparency exemplified in the clear eligibility guidelines and evaluation criteria followed by the jury, as well as the quality of entries, which reflects the development of the child cinema industry in the UAE and the region. Sheikha Jawaher noted that the jury will judge the film submissions, which all are rich in content, significance and morality, on the grounds of the idea, form, content and direction, in order to enrich the film industry with creative works in the world of children’s cinema that are also able to enhance the movie scene locally, regionally and globally. She added, "SICFF has become an eagerly awaited annual event where cinema professionals celebrate the first of its kind project on the cultural and artistic calendar of the emirate and wider region. It has also become an occasion to honour creative talents in the children's cinema industry and recognise their efforts and creative works." The SICFF Director pointed out that the festival is witnessing continuous development that goes beyond its Arab boundaries to discover all creative industry professionals and give them room to work more on quantity and quality, thereby contributing to the overall film production and enriching it with creative works. SICFF awards cover seven categories, including the "Best Child Made Film", "Best Emirati Short Film", "Best GCC Short Film", "Best Feature Film", "Best Short Film", "Best Documentary Film", and the "Best Animation Film". A total of 175 films from 20 countries are competing for the SICFF awards, including the UAE, Russia, Iran, Canada, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Syria, Spain, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Tunisia and Australia. – Emirates News Agency, WAM - http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395284268067.html