Government | Friday 1 May, 2015 10:14 pm |

FUNN, the Sharjah-based foundation dedicated to promoting media arts for and among children and youth in the UAE, has announced that two of their talented students were part of a student-exchange programme with the Studio Film School in London, to develop young talents, in its quest to support Emirati talent to compete globally.

The student exchange programme comes as part of FUNN's ongoing efforts to discover the artistic talents of children and young people and develop their creativity as well as to build and develop a cinematic experience for Emirati youth beyond local and Arab boundaries, which can compete globally and convey its message across borders.


FUNN's students, Aisha Al Shurafa, (19 years), and Abdullah Bu Ali (18years), along with four other foreign students, engaged in the training workshop, which took place from April 5th-8th. The program offered intensive theoretical and practical training on various tools and multimedia programmes used in digital production and photography, shooting, effects and character drawing, in addition to practical applications on how to use these techniques in the film industry.


Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN, said, “We aim through such programmes to provide an opportunity for our talented students in various creative arts to get training opportunities and develop their skills in order to prepare a new generation of young Emirati filmmakers who are able to produce world-class films depicting their reality and showing their experience to the world, thus enabling them to compete with major film industry professionals around the world."

She added: "FUNN's approach is in line with the vision and directives of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, to nurture a new generation of promising Emirati artists who are able to compete with internationally acclaimed filmmakers."



The four-day program, presented by British film editor Dan Farrell, offered theoretical and practical exercises to familiarise participants on how to use digital photography, cameras and lighting equipment, and how to manage a film production project, as well as requirements and technical operations that accompany the film making process.

The students produced a short film about bullying and its negative effects on the society at the end of the workshop.


Speaking about her participation, Aisha Al Shurafa said: "It was an amazing and rich experience for me as it greatly contributed to introducing me to the seventh art techniques and honing my talents and artistic skills, thereby encouraging me to work in this creative field in the future to act as a cultural ambassador of my country and represent it well".

For his part, Abdullah Bu Ali expressed his thanks and appreciation to FUNN for giving him this opportunity to be trained on how to make a film in a prestigious British school. He stressed his desire to carry on with this path to become a famous filmmaker in the future and represents his country at international festivals and events in this area.

The Studio Film School is planning to submit films produced by its students to the Sharjah International Children's Film Festival to be screened during its third edition, and a team from the school will visit Sharjah in October to attend the festival. A group of the school's students will come to Sharjah as part of the second student exchange programme to be held at FUNN.

FUNN is a Sharjah-based government organisation established in June 2012, under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, to act as nucleus to promote interest and excellence in the creative and media arts among children and young people in the emirate of Sharjah and the UAE at large.

The foundation aims to promote and support media art (animation, film making, graphic design, etc.) for young children and the youth of Sharjah and the UAE and to nurture the future generation of creative artists in media and film.

It aims, also, to promote new media work and the films made by children and youth in the UAE in a range of international film festivals and conferences, and to foster talent through festivals, conferences, and workshops of national and international level.