The Sharjah Intl. Film Festival for Children and Youth will bring films from Thailand, Brazil, India, Italy and across the Arab world to the UAE for its 13th edition, with a lineup featuring international festival titles, emerging filmmakers and Emirati talent.
Running Oct. 26-Oct. 31, SIFF’s Green Carpet program includes Chayanop Bunprakob, Baz Poonpiriya and Atta Hemwadee’s Thai drama “Gohan,” Fabrizio Cattani’s Italian feature “Forever With You” and Verena Fels’ Austrian-German animated film “Monster Mia,” all receiving their Middle East premieres.
“Gohan” follows a stray dog as he passes through the lives of three owners over more than a decade, while “Forever With You” follows two friends whose search for a missing dog leads them deep into the woods and into unexpected danger. “Monster Mia” follows a 12-year-old girl who finds herself at a school full of monsters. Poonpiriya previously directed Thai box-office hit “Bad Genius” and Sundance prize winner “One for the Road.”
Elsewhere in the lineup, Juan Cabral’s Argentine feature “Risa and the Wind Phone” receives its Gulf premiere. Cabral’s previous feature, “Two/One,” premiered at Tribeca and was released by Mubi across select international territories.
Indian filmmaker Ravi Nimbalkar’s “87 Rupees Ink Pen” also receives its Middle East premiere, while Brazilian director Celia Catunda’s animated feature “My Grandfather Is a Nihonjin” arrives in Sharjah after premiering at Annecy in 2025.
The animation selection extends to David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec’s Czech-French-Slovak-Slovenian stop-motion feature “Tales From the Magic Garden,” another 2025 Annecy selection.
Local talent features in the shorts program. Abdulrahman Al Madani’s “Oug,” part of the Arabic short-film competition, follows an Emirati couple facing family and social pressure to have children. The film received the Gulf Capital-ADMAF Visual Arts Award in 2025 and has since screened at Denmark’s Odense Intl. Film Festival.
Young filmmakers also get their own space through SIFF’s Child & Youth Made Films and student competitions, with selections spanning live-action and animation.
The wider festival program counts 71 films from 38 countries selected from a pool of 1,802 submissions representing 72 countries, with a further eight films screening out of competition. Morning screenings at VOX Cinemas City Centre Al Zahia are reserved for school-aged and university students, while evening screenings are open to the public.
Workshops introduce young participants to stop-motion and flipbook animation, alongside workshops on cinematography, production management and content creation.
Italy, this year’s country of honor, is represented in the workshop program with “The Italian Eye – Photography Through Light, Color & Composition” and “Tell a Story in Five Shots – Inspired by Italian Cinema.”
The festival’s panel lineup turns to what happens once filmmakers have industry-ready work. “Film Festivals Decoded: What Happens After You Press Submit?” brings together festival programmers and directors to discuss the selection process, submissions and how festivals build their programs. Moderated by Saudi Cinema Assn. CEO Hani Al Mulla, the panel features Rotterdam Arab Film Festival artistic director Rosh Abdelfattah, American Intl. University Kuwait executive director of alumni affairs and strategic events Alia Al Azzeh, and Alexandria Short Film Festival head Mohamed Mahmoud.
Another panel, “How Do I Get My Next Film Made? From Idea to Financing,” will focus on pitching materials, development labs, producers, financing and co-production opportunities. The festival’s Industry Hub and pitching sessions will run alongside the public program, giving emerging filmmakers opportunities to present projects and connect with industry professionals.
SIFF opens Oct. 25, with screenings beginning Oct. 26 and continuing through Oct. 31, ahead of the closing ceremony on Nov. 1.