Overview

Sharjah Art Foundation is pleased to invite filmmakers to submit films for the 5th edition of Sharjah Film Platform (SFP5).

Organised by the Foundation to support the flourishing art scene in the UAE and MENA region, SFP provides a critical platform for emerging and established filmmakers, producers, critics and students alike. The platform has three main components: a curated film programme and awards; a public programme of talks and workshops as well as industry events, including the Pitching Forum; and the SFP Short Film Production Grant, which funds films that premiere at the festival. Screenings take place in Sharjah at the Foundation’s Mirage City Cinema, Al Mureijah Square, and other locations in and around the city.

All films accepted through this open call will be automatically considered for a juried award in the Documentary, Experimental and Narrative categories for short and feature-length films.

To submit your film, please see the application here.

Terms and Conditions

• Submission is free and open to filmmakers worldwide.
• Only Vimeo and YouTube submission screeners are considered.
• Only one submission per director is considered; multiple submissions will not be accepted.
• All films must be original.
• Without exception, film entries must be submitted before 11:59 pm UAE time (GMT+4), 15 May 2022.
• Submissions will be rejected if they do not follow the technical specifications mentioned below.
• If accepted to screen at SFP5, DCP films are accepted if they have dual subtitles (Arabic/English) embedded.

Film Rights and Copyright

With the submission of their film, applicants grant Sharjah Film Platform the right to do the following:
• Screen the film publicly in the SFP festival programme.
• Use segments of the film for marketing purposes, such as publicising and promoting the film in any media, without time or territorial restrictions.
• Use trailers, names, photographs, screenshots and/or biographies for marketing purposes such as publicising and promoting the film in any media, without time or territorial restrictions.

Technical specifications for selected Sharjah Film Platform films:

• The file name must be in the following format:
SFP5_Film Title_First Name_Last Name
• Video specifications:
o Encoding: H.264 or MP4
o Aspect ratio: 16:9 Full Frame
o Resolution: 1080p (1920×1080 pixels)
o Bitrate: 15.0 Mbps CBR
o Colour sampling: 4:2:0
• Audio specifications:
o Stereo audio: LC-AAC 2.0 @ 192 kbps
o Surround: Dolby Digital AC-3 @ 384 kbps
o Audio Channel: Assignment 2.0 + 5.1
o Sampling rate: 48 kHz
o Audi levels: Reference -18 dBFS; Peak <-10 dBFS (EBU R68)
• English and Arabic subtitles must be embedded in the film copy.
o If your film is in English, please provide the Arabic subtitles, and vice versa.
o If your film is in another language, please provide both English and Arabic subtitles.