Bringing regional and international films to the local audiences, the 9th edition of Sharjah Film Platform (SFP9) features compelling works produced by upcoming filmmakers and established professionals from Palestine, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Mexico, India and Haiti, among others. During the 10-day festival, filmmakers, students and cinema-enthusiasts will all have an opportunity to connect, exchange ideas and create together.
The opening film of SFP9, Letters (2025), is Josef Khallouf’s anthology of 17 shorts reflecting on Lebanon's history. In total, the lineup features 26 titles, including David Bim’s To the West, in Zapata (2025), recounting a Cuban crocodile hunter’s struggle to provide for his family, and Azeem Rajulawalla’s More Punk than Punk (2025), a portrait of a Pakistani punk artist whose music fuses the personal with the political.
Other highlights include Minimals in a Titanic World (2025) by Philbert Aimé Mbabazi about a budding friendship in the shadow of grief and Ru Ba Ru (Face to Face (2025) by Kapil Tanwar, a story of two sisters battling casteism and societal judgement. The festival closes with Larissa Sansour’s recent feature, An Incomplete Drowning (2026), contemplating the fragility of objects and their power to hold history.
This edition will also premiere two newly completed shorts produced through the Sharjah Film Platform Short Film Production Grant. In his psychological drama I Broke a Vase (2026), Asim Abdulaziz explores the haunting legacy of a former journalist, while Fatima Wardy probes the tension that arises when a child is forced to parent their own parent in White Musk (2026).
Films screened in the competition section are eligible for the Sharjah Film Platform Awards across four categories—Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Fiction Feature and Fiction Short. The documentary award winners will be selected by Mahmoud Kaabour (filmmaker and museum storyteller); Rabih El Khoury (advisor, Berlinale’s Official Selection Programme); and Rasha Amer (founder, She Films). The fiction awards winners will be picked by Hania Nashef (professor, American University of Sharjah); Maike Mia Höhne (artistic director, Hamburg Short Film Festival); and Roger Garcia (film festival executive, producer and writer).
This year, the Director in Focus foregrounds acclaimed filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako whose poetic films explore themes of exile and memory across Africa. A selection of his films will be shown at the festival, including Timbuktu (2014), Bamako (2006) and Black Tea (2024). The screening of Timbuktu will be preceded by a masterclass in which he will share insights into his filmmaking practice spanning more than 30 years.
In its second year, First Takes continues to encourage dialogue among aspiring filmmakers in the UAE. The featured selection was shortlisted in collaboration with American University of Sharjah, New York University Abu Dhabi, University of the Arts Sharjah and Zayed University. The segment includes a pitching workshop, feedback sessions and peer networking programmes tailored for student filmmakers in collaboration with Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg.
Taking place from 30 October–8 November 2026, SFP9 takes place in Mirage City Cinema, the open-air theatre in Sharjah’s historical quarter, and VOX Cinemas, City Centre Al Zahia.
Organised by Sharjah Art Foundation, SFP9 has been made possible with the generous support of VOX Cinemas.
OFF