Amin Abbas

SHARJAH: The sixth edition of Sharjah Film Platform (SFP6) took place from Dec. 8 to 17, featuring a range of independent cinema and experimental filmmaking.

Sharjah Film Platform is an annual festival of independent cinema and documentary filmmaking where audiences can discover new approaches to film and art. 

The 10-day event—which includes a range of regional and international films, talks by filmmakers and industry professionals, musical concerts, and mixers—is centered around Mirage City Cinema, the open-air theatre in Sharjah’s historical quarter. 

The SFP6 Competition section featured 50 documentary and fiction films, including the Japanese movie “Miyamatsu to Yamashita,” vying for the Sharjah Film Platform Awards.

These films have been nominated by a special committee of filmmakers and industry professionals from different parts of the world. 

SFP6 also included special screenings of “Inshallah a Boy,” directed by Amjad Al Rasheed, as well as “Machtat,” directed by Sonia Ben Slama, both of which articulate women’s struggles.

This section also included the Director in Focus program, which foregrounds established filmmakers who have contributed to the film culture of the region and beyond.

This year, SFP honored Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye, who was the first female African director to garner international fame and passed away earlier this year. 

Faye made her directorial debut with the short film “The Passerby” in 1972. Her award-winning debut film “Letter From My Village” in 1976, which premiered at the Berlinale Forum, is considered the first feature film by a female director from sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, she was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The festival celebrated her legacy by showing three of her films: “Newcomer! Work,” “Letter From My Village,” and “I, Your Mother.”

Presented in parallel with the film screenings, a series of public programs provided an opportunity for learning and gathering as a community. This year’s program focused on ideas of solidarity and resistance, empowered by the medium of cinema.

Geared towards industry professionals, the SFP industry hub consisted of the Pitching Forum, a feature scriptwriting competition with an open call; the Script Lab, a professional scriptwriting course; and an annual initiative to support regional and international film distribution.

The SFP6 Pitching Forum, to be held in 2024, is supported by Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) and the Ministry of Culture in the UAE.