Overview
Winter 2020 Film Programme
Friday, 14 February–Friday, 27 March 2020
Mirage City Cinema, Al Mureijah Art Spaces, Al Mureijah Square
Cinema enthusiasts can watch critically acclaimed films at the open-air Mirage City Cinema as part of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Winter 2020 Film Programme. With a focus on films not shown in mainstream cinemas, SAF film screenings include award-winning work by upcoming directors, world cinema classics and specially curated series that might explore a particular theme or genre.
Running from 14 February to 27 March, this season’s programme focuses on films about displaced protagonists who are forced to leave their homes due to a variety of circumstances and find themselves dealing with the emotional, mental and physical effects of their new realities.
All screenings take place at Mirage City Cinema in Al Mureijah Art Spaces. The screenings, which begin at 8:30 pm, are free and open to the public.
To book complimentary tickets for any of the Winter 2020 Film Programme screenings, please click here.
Here’s a brief synopsis of the films to be screened this season:
14 and 15 February 2020
It Must Be Heaven (2019)
Director: Elia Suleiman
Canada, France, Germany, Palestine, Qatar, Turkey
Comedy | 97 min
Arabic, English, French, Hebrew and Spanish with Arabic and English subtitles
With his signature style and distinct perspective, auteur filmmaker Elia Suleiman immerses audiences in absurd vignettes about his travels. He makes connections and explores similarities between his home in Palestine and his new surroundings in New York and Paris. This film received the 2019 Cannes Film Festival’s FIPRESCI Critic’s Prize as well as a Special Mention.
28 February 2020
Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Japan
Drama | 124 min
Japanese with Arabic and English subtitles
In this tragic tale, a family is torn apart after the father is exiled from their home. While attempting to reunite with him, the mother and two children come under the control of slave traders. The children are sold as slaves and serve in the private manor of Sansho the Bailiff, and the mother is forced into prostitution. As they grow older, they remember their father’s wise teachings, which guide them through life and keep their hope of reuniting with him alive. This film won the Silver Lion Award at the 15th Venice International Film Festival (1954).
13 March 2020
Last Night I Saw You Smiling (2019)
Director: Kavich Neang
Cambodia/France
Documentary | 78 min
Khmer with English and Arabic subtitles
Scheduled for demolition, the iconic White Building in the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh is home to many families and witness to both personal memories and the rapidly changing dynamic of the nation. This personal documentary depicts the stories of the residents, including the director’s father, who must accept the coming change and prepare for the inevitable relocation. This film received the NETPAC Award, IFFR Bright Future Competition, Rotterdam (2019); Special Jury Prize, Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea (2019); Best Director, Documentary, Tacoma Film Festival, US (2019); and Best Image Award, Janela Internacionnal de Cinema do Recife, Brazil (2019).
27 March 2020
Black Girl (1966)
Director: Ousmane Sembène
Senegal
Drama | 80 min
French with Arabic and English subtitles
Suitable only for adults
Diouana moves to France with the family that employs her in the hope of a better life. Her excitement is quickly diminished, however, as she begins experiencing isolation, loneliness and a feeling of confinement in the foreign country. Motifs of home surround her, although her options for returning there are limited. This film won the Prix Jean Vido and Tanit d’Or at the Carthage Film Festival (1966).
About Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF)
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. Under the leadership of founder Hoor Al Qasimi, a curator and artist, 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.
Media Contact
Alyazeyah Al Reyaysa
+971 (0) 6 5444113
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org