Sharjah24: Sharjah Film Platform 6 (SFP6) foregrounds the transformative role of cinema in our culture and community by bringing together a range of independent and experimental filmmaking.

This year, the Competition section features nearly 40 documentary and fiction films contending for the Sharjah Film Platform Awards. All UAE premieres, the screenings will be followed by Q&A sessions with the directors. SFP6 also includes an Out of Competition section featuring noteworthy films produced in and around the region. The Director in Focus section honours the late pioneer Safi Faye, whose work sheds light on women’s voices in rural Senegalese communities. In addition to the screening of her films, including the award-winning Kaddu Beykat (Letter from My Village) (1976), an in-depth conversation on Faye’s prolific practice will take place during SFP6. 

The festival begins with Notes on Displacement (2022), Khaled Jarrar’s documentary about a Palestinian family's gruelling journey from Syria to Germany in search of refuge. Other highlights include Goodbye Julia (2023), Mohamed Kordofani's story of struggle and friendship set in Khartoum during the years leading up to the secession of South Sudan, and La Bonga (2023), Canela Reyes and Sebastian Pinzon's film that follows the inhabitants of La Bonga as they travel home two decades after being forcibly removed by paramilitaries. 

A parallel public programme provides opportunities for learning and gathering as a community. This year’s programme focuses on ideas of solidarity and resistance, empowered by the medium of cinema. 

Organised by Sharjah Art Foundation, SFP6 has been made possible with the generous support of the Ministry of Culture and Youth, Sharjah Media City Free Zone (Shams), VOX Cinemas and Air Arabia.