Six-day Sharjah Children's Film Festival to begin October 18

Sharjah - A total of 175 films from 20 countries will compete for the SICFF awards.

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 18-23.
The six-day festival, held under the patronage of Shaikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, aims to promote media literacy among young people in addition to discovering, nurturing and encouraging creative talents while developing the local cinema industry.
Shaikha 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 subjected to evaluation by the competent 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 18.
Shaikha Jawaher bint Abdullah noted that the jury will judge the film submissions, which all are rich in content, significance and morality, on the grounds of 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.
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 will competie for the SICFF awards.
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• Sharjah