Mohammed Jassim, Bar Saar (still), 2023. Image courtesy of the artist
Sharjah Art Foundation is participating in the upcoming Emami Art Experimental Film Festival (EAEFF), taking place from 11 to 14 September 2025 at Emami Art gallery and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata, India. Titled Sharjah Film Platform Montage (SFP Montage), the programme is organised by Emami Art in collaboration with Sharjah Art Foundation.
The lineup shortlisted for Emami Art includes a compelling collection of short films—from Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and Palestine—that explore personal and collective memory through gestures of care, grief and resistance. These works not only highlight the resilience of individuals and communities but also reflect on how memory is preserved, and reimagined across different cultural and historical contexts. Together, they offer a rich tapestry of voices and visual languages that speak to both intimate experiences and broader sociopolitical realities of the world.
SFP Montage, a series of special projects derived from the Foundation’s annual film festival Sharjah Film Platform, is an initiative that forges new associations among the works and expands their reach beyond Sharjah. By showing the films at EAEFF, the Foundation intends to introduce Arab filmmakers to new audiences, broadening the reach of their work and fostering dialogue across regions.
Full screening information and film descriptions are given below:
Bar Saar (2023)
Director: Mohammed Jassim
Bahrain, United Arab Emirates
Documentary | 35 minutes
Arabic with English subtitles
This documentary explores life in a small Bahraini community through the eyes of Abu Ahmed and his son, following their journey into the fascinating local pastime of donkey racing.
Upshot (2024)
Director: Maha Haj
France, Italy, Palestine, United Arab Emirates
Fiction | 34 minutes
Arabic with English subtitles
After suffering unimaginable loss, Suleiman and Lubna retreat to an isolated farm, where they tend to their crops and engage in impassioned debates about their five children’s life choices. One day a stranger arrives to reveal a harrowing truth from their past.
The Grocery List (2024)
Director: Taqwa Ali Naser
Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
Fiction | 17 minutes
Arabic with English subtitles
In a mysterious minimarket, where the only items on display are bottles of milk, mothers shop for the perfect batch for their sons. Jehad, a young man, sits in a shopping cart steered by his mother Nora. Things come to a head when Jehad’s heart starts to beat strongly for one specific bottle, while Nora insists on another.
And Then They Burn the Sea (2021)
Director: Majid Al-Remaihi
Qatar
Documentary | 12 minutes
Arabic with English subtitles
Through personal family archives, as well as imagined dreams and rituals, the filmmaker depicts the experience of his mother’s gradual and terminal memory loss over the course of many years.
Don’t Get Too Comfortable (2021)
Director: Shaima Al Tamimi
Yemen
Documentary | 9 minutes
Arabic, English and Swahili With English Subtitles.
A personal documentary essay from Yemen that interweaves migration, identity and intergenerational dialogue.
Visit sharjahart.org for more information.
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. The Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.
Established in 2009 to expand programmes beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the Foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organisations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The Foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programmes in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centres. A growing collection reflects the Foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realisation of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.
Sharjah Art Foundation is a legally independent public body established by Emiri Decree and supported by government funding, grants from national and international nonprofits and cultural organisations, corporate sponsors and individual patrons. Hoor Al Qasimi serves as President and Director. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Emami Art is a prominent contemporary art gallery and cultural production space located on the ground floor of the Kolkata Centre for Creativity’s Green Building. Established in 2017, it adopts a forward-looking, multi-dimensional approach that reflects South Asia's history, socio-cultural, and geo-political narratives. Emami Art operates within an inclusive framework where profitability supports sustainable resource regeneration and public service.
The gallery features a dynamic program of curated exhibitions, ranging from large-scale presentations to more intimate displays. It actively participates in both national and international events and art fairs. Emami Art represents a wide spectrum of contemporary artists, including emerging, mid-career, and established talents, with a special emphasis on the East and North Eastern regions of India. Several of its artists’ works are featured in prominent national and international collections, including public foundations and museums.
A key initiative is the annual Emami Art Experimental Film Festival, which provides a platform for alternative and experimental filmmaking, video art, and moving image practices. This festival brings together internationally acclaimed artists and filmmakers alongside recent critical productions from India.
Through short- and long-term projects, Emami Art supports the local and regional arts community by offering regular mentorship programs, workshops, residency opportunities, and innovative educational activities. These initiatives foster artistic development, build collaborative networks, and provide a supportive environment for emerging talent. The gallery also organizes regular talks, seminars, panel discussions, and conversations with artists, curators, and key partners, creating a space for critical engagement.
Committed to promoting a regional, national, and international agenda, Emami Art emphasizes community engagement, socially relevant initiatives, and institutional partnerships. With a multi-year vision for the future, it continues to be a catalyst for change, research, innovation, and inclusivity.
EAEFF is a platform dedicated to curating and building discourses around alternative and experimental practices. Since its formative edition, EAEFF has emerged as a significant platform for curatorial engagements and critical interventions, facilitating a global community of filmmakers, artists, scholars and curators engaged in alternative practices in moving image making. Inspired by the legacy of avant-garde films and contemporary moving image practices, the festival creates an expanded space for projects that interrogate the materiality of the medium, unconventional narratives and discourses.
Sharjah is the third largest of the seven United Arab Emirates, and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reflecting the deep commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education embraced by its ruler, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. It was named UNESCO's Arab Capital of Culture for 1998 and the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2019.
Alyazeyah Al Marri
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org
+971 (0)6 5444113
Mohammed Jassim, Bar Saar (still), 2023. Image courtesy of the artist