Sharjah International Film Festival for Children & Youth (SIFF)

The 12th Edition of SIFF takes place 6 to 11 October at VOX Cinemas in City Centre Al Zahia with what looks like a strong lineup – 76 films (chosen from 1,740 submissions!) representing 26 countries. South Korea is participating as a Country of Honor, giving audiences the opportunity to explore the way Korean cinema’ has become a major contributor to South Korea’s creative economy, soft power, and tourism industry.

They include three Middle East premieres – animated feature Miss Moxy (dir Wip Vernooij and Vincent Bal, Netherlands), the story of a cat who has to find her way back home with a couple of unlikely friends; Sarah Talab’s Saudi feature Hajeer, about a young musician whose life is turned upside down after suffering a childhood illness that causes him to lose his hearing; and Seryeong Jeong’s 2:15PM, a remarkable poignant tale that you should really see if you can. Ten-year-old Hyunsu comes across six-year-old Jo Minha, who has been isolated from the world by her abusive father; understanding the power of kindness, Hyunsu sneaks visits to Jo Minha at precisely 2:15pm each day for a fleeting ten minutes together …

On the sidelines, SIFF Pop-Up will be hosted in Sharjah Research Technology & Innovation Park with a series of activations and workshops aiming to encourage the young to get involved with film.

The website is less than helpful at the moment: right now you can’t tell exactly what’s showing when, or how much the tickets might be. Hopefully it will get sorted out …