132 films from 32 countries to participate in Sharjah International Children's Film Festival

Sharjah: After a highly enthusiastic call for submissions by the Sharjah International Children's Film Festival (SICFF), the numbers are in with a total of 132 films submitted, and 77 selected for participation. Covering short live action, animation, feature, and documentary films for children, as well as films produced by children of all age groups, the sheer diversity of options promises to cater to all tastes. 32 nationalities are participating overall, from countries in every continent, and so the cultural mix will be vast. Ones to watch would definitely be those from the younger generations, who, as SICFF director Jawaher Abdulla Al Qassimi pointed out last month, "This year at the world's most prestigious film awards, the Oscars, we saw the youngest ever nominee in history being nominated for Best Actress, Quvenzhane Wallis, who was only five years old when she auditioned for Beasts of the Southern Wild. Our emirate, our nation, our region is more than capable of producing our own success stories, because our youths are bubbling with fresh ideas - and there is no better incubator of talent than SICFF." Reaction from participating filmmakers has been very keen. Brazilian Ricardo de Podesta is eager for the festival to start as well, saying, "I've been doing this for a long time, and it's refreshing to see such a gathering of regional creatives in the Middle East being given such immense support at an international scale. I expect the films on show to be a great representation of the immense talents of the young and the great films being made for children across the world." Hamad Alawar, one of the young fresh talents of the UAE, is very excited about the SICFF's diversity, "I've spent a lot of my time living outside the UAE, mostly due to my education in Miami and now pursuing my PhD in the UK, and so I have seen the very different ways in which things are done; it is great to be able to share that with our children and have other cultures explore the Emirati was through our films as well." – Emirates News Agency, WAM