Sharjah Art Foundation announced today the recipients of the first Short Film Production Grant, a part of Sharjah Film Platform (SFP). Emerging filmmakers Faisal Attrache, Mohammed Al Hammadi and Abdulrahman Al Madani will be awarded a total of USD 30,000 to support the production of new work. The foundation also announced today an open call for film submissions that would be screened alongside the premieres of the Short Film Production Grant recipients’ new works at the annual Sharjah Film Platform in December 2018.

The Short Film Production Grants and curated film programme are part of the foundation’s newly established SFP. Launched in 2018, SFP is a critical resource for filmmaking in the United Arab Emirates and the surrounding region. SFP additionally includes workshops and discussions and builds upon the foundation’s long history of film programming and commissions. SFP continues and expands the foundation’s commitment to artists, including emerging and established filmmakers, film producers, critics and students.

‘For more than two decades, we have supported and collaborated with emerging artists and filmmakers through commissions, screenings and other programmes, first through the Sharjah Biennial and then as part of Sharjah Art Foundation’s regular activities since 2009,’ said Hoor Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah Art Foundation. ‘There is a dynamic community of artists in the United Arab Emirates and the surrounding regions, whose experimental work has made an important contribution to the broader cultural landscape. We are thrilled to announce Attrache, Al Hammadi and Al Madani as the first recipients of SFP Film Production Grants. We are also pleased to announce an additional open call for the first curated film programme and a series of sponsored awards that will be presented during the Sharjah Film Platform in December this year. We are excited for filmmakers to participate in the launch of Sharjah Film Platform as well as engage with the foundation’s work to educate and build community around this medium.’

The winners of the Short Film Production Grant were assessed on the creativity and technical skills demonstrated by their proposal submissions.  The socially driven work of the selected artists confronts personal experiences related to a sense of belonging, identity, nationhood and broader social topics, including the refugee crises, bullying and terminal illness.

In conjunction with the announcement of the Short Film Production Grant recipients, the foundation also announces an open call for the first edition of the annual SFP curated film programme, running this year from 11th until the 22nd of December 2018. Curated by Al Qasimi, this programme will feature talks, workshops and masterclasses as well as film screenings, including the premieres of the films awarded the Short Film Production Grant. The Sharjah Film Platform will also present three sponsored awards to selected filmmakers.

Filmmakers interested in having their work screened in SFP’s curated film programme are invited to submit feature films, experimental films or short films by 1st of September 2018. All artistic approaches, formats and themes will be accepted, and all open call submissions will be considered for a jury prize.

Learn more about The Short Film Production initiative, here.