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Sharjah Film Festival Takeaways: ‘Atlas of the Universe’ Takes Top Prize, Pitching Platform Doubles and Audience Award Debuts
The Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth awarded its top feature prize to Paul Negoescu’s Romanian-Bulgarian drama “Atlas of the Universe”, while Celia Catunda’s “My Grandfather Is a Nihonjin” won best animated feature. The results highlight the festival’s range of international stories, alongside its growing efforts to connect young audiences and emerging filmmakers with the film industry.
Other awards included best documentary for Saudi film “The Path of Memory, Between the Lands of Jasmine and Basil”, best Arabic short for Emirati film “Oug”, and best international short for “Little Big Dreams”. Thai feature “Gohan” received the festival’s first Audience Award; the event screened 71 films from 38 countries, selected from 1,802 submissions from 72 countries. The festival also doubled its pitching platform to six projects from three the previous year, linking filmmakers with potential industry partners and support.
In short
- “Atlas of the Universe” won the top feature prize.
- “Gohan” received the festival’s first Audience Award.
- The pitching platform doubled to six projects.
Explained simply
The Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth is a film event in the United Arab Emirates focused on work for younger audiences. It screens films from different countries and gives awards across categories such as feature films, animation, documentaries and short films.
The festival also gives emerging filmmakers a chance to present projects through a pitching platform, where they can seek industry partners and support. Its screenings and awards offer a way to see which stories and filmmaking voices are reaching young audiences, while the platform connects new projects with the wider film industry.