Biography
Talal Derki’s short films and feature-length documentaries have received several international awards.
Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize Documentary, Sundance Film Festival (2014), Return to Homs provides an unprecedented look at the Syrian civil war and its impact on ordinary people.
To shoot Of Fathers and Sons, Derki returned to his homeland where he gained the trust of a radical family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses primarily on the children, Osama (13) and his brother Ayman (12). Both love and admire their father and obey his words, but while Osama seems content to follow the radical path, Ayman wants to go back to school. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, Of Fathers and Sons is a work of unparalleled intimacy that captures the chilling moment when childhood dies and radicalism is born. Of Fathers and Sons was the only non-American film nominated for Best Documentary at the 91st Academy Awards.
Derki studied film directing at Stavrako High Institute of Cinematographic Art and Television in Athens (2003).
Born in Damascus, he currently lives and works in Berlin.
SAF Participation:
Sharjah Film Platform 4 (2021)
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SFP4 Talks and Workshops
Sharjah Film Platform (SFP) offers a programme of talks on cinema and artists’ moving image as well as sessions addressing current debates in the film industry. A programme of workshops for children and families aims to teach children about the various aspects of filmmaking, such as screenwriting, storyboarding, lighting, filming and production.
Sharjah Film Platform 4
Sharjah Film Platform is an annual festival organised by Sharjah Art Foundation to support the growing film scene in the UAE by celebrating and sustaining the work of local, regional and international filmmakers.
A limited number of Festival Passes and tickets to individual screenings are now available for purchase online. To book your SFP4 Festival Pass or tickets, click here.