Sharjah Children's Film Festival Doubles Its Pitching Session for Young Filmmakers
The Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth runs from 26 to 31 October 2026, and its pitching session for new projects has doubled in size.
The festival's director, Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, told Variety that making a film is one challenge and getting it seen by an audience is another. The 2026 programme is built around that second step.
The Film Pitching Session launched in 2025 with three projects. This year six have been selected. It is open to filmmakers and producers aged 18 and over, of any nationality. The projects must be aimed at children or young audiences, and they can be at any stage, from a first idea to the final edit.
The session is not a competition, and it awards no cash prize. Its purpose is to introduce filmmakers to funders, producers and industry partners, in the hope of leading to financing, production support or joint work.
The 2026 edition also adds an Industry Hub, a space for trade-focused activity, and a new Festival Ambassadors Program. The programme brings back former Junior Jurors, the young people aged 12 to 20 who judge the Child and Youth-Made Film Competition.
The festival received 1,802 submissions from 72 countries. It chose 71 films from 38 countries for its official programme. Brunei, Burkina Faso and Mauritania are showing films at the festival for the first time. A new out-of-competition section adds eight more titles.
Variety has covered the festival for several years. In 2025, the director described it as a bridge between education and industry. Its official website describes the event as the first children and youth film festival.
For young filmmakers, the practical point is the pitching session. A project that reaches the table in Sharjah could meet people who can fund it, and the session is open to anyone who meets the age rule, wherever they live. For the audiences the films are made for, the festival offers a wider mix of countries and voices than the year before, with more films from more places in the official line-up.
Further details, including the screening schedule and session listings, are available from the festival.
