‘Atlas of the Universe’ Wins Top Prize as Sharjah Film Festival Wraps

Paul Negoescu's “Atlas of the Universe” won best feature film as the 13th Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth closed on Sunday. Celia Catunda's “My Grandfather Is a Nihonjin” took best animated feature at a festival that screened 71 films from 38 countries, selected from 1,802 submissions from 72 countries, with Italy as Country of Honor.

The Romanian-Bulgarian coming-of-age drama follows a 10-year-old boy whose errand to buy school shoes becomes a journey toward independence. The jury called it “the essence of this festival.” The Brazilian animation, about a Japanese-Brazilian boy exploring his family history and cultural identity, was recognized for its treatment of tradition and “the difficulty of starting a new life in a foreign place.”

Areej Alghamdi's Saudi film “The Path of Memory, Between the Lands of Jasmine and Basil” won best documentary. Abdulrahman Al Madani's Emirati “Oug,” about a childless couple confronting family pressure and gendered blame around infertility, took best Arabic short.

Shweta Parakh and Rakesh E Nair's “Little Big Dreams” won best international short. The film follows a girl in Ladakh, India, who uses a wheelchair and is determined to pursue her education and be seen with “pride rather than pity.” The jury praised its portrayal of “resilience, friendship and the power of the human spirit.”

What did audiences choose?

Thai feature “Gohan,” directed by Chayanop Bunprakob, Baz Poonpiriya and Atta Hemwadee, won the festival's inaugural Audience Award. The film follows a stray dog through the lives of three owners over more than a decade. It had its Middle East premiere as one of the festival's Green Carpet screenings and also received a special mention from the feature film jury.

The new award let festivalgoers rate each film by scanning a QR code after screenings. “We wanted to give them a greater role in the festival and make their opinions count,” Huda Al Harmoudi, deputy director of FANN, told Variety. “The response has been very positive, and we're pleased to see audiences taking part.”

Other winners included South Korea's “The Monster” for best child and youth-made film, “Raeda” for best student-made short, “Fellow” for best student short animation and “The Great Dreamscape” for best animation short. Saudi documentary “Marjooj” received a special mention.

How is SIFF building an industry pipeline?

The festival continued expanding participation beyond watching films. Its Junior Jurors program puts young participants on festival juries, and the Festival Ambassadors program gives them experience representing and covering the event. An Industry Hub connects emerging filmmakers with established professionals through panels and workshops. One panel addressed how programmers weigh lineup balance, geography and audience, and that acceptance or rejection is not necessarily a verdict on quality.

“For those who do want to pursue filmmaking, we want SIFF to remain part of their journey, from their first experience of cinema to their first professional opportunities,” festival director Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi told Variety ahead of the festival.

The pitching platform doubled in its second year, selecting six projects compared with three in 2025. It offers no cash prize. Instead, it connects filmmakers with industry professionals who could provide financing, production support or other collaboration, ranging from completed screenplays seeking financing to films looking for post-production partners.

Khalid Al Mahmoud's “The Mangrove House” showed the model's potential. FANN – Media Discovery Platform, SIFF's parent organization, backed the Emirati project after he pitched it in 2025 while seeking post-production support. The film returned this year to open the festival with its world premiere.

Who took part from across the region?

Egyptian actors Ali Beialy, 12, and Retal Abdelaziz, 15, served as junior jurors, introduced films and covered festival events. “We all come from different backgrounds, but we share the same interest, which gives us a great opportunity to learn from each other and introduce our own visions, cultures and experiences,” Beialy told Variety.

Abdelaziz said representing Egypt came with responsibility. “I am proud to represent my country, Egypt, and I see the exchange of ideas and experiences between countries as very important,” she said. The pitching platform this year brought together projects from the UAE, Oman and the Palestinian diaspora in the U.S., while the competition includes a dedicated section for Arabic short films.

What lies ahead for Emirati filmmakers?

The only two Emirati films in competition, “The Mangrove House” and “Oug,” draw from local experiences, but their directors cited continuing challenges in financing, production support, distribution and reaching audiences. The question of building infrastructure that allows local filmmakers to keep working comes as the Dubai International Film Festival prepares to return in December 2027 after a decade-long hiatus.

During SIFF, FANN signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE's National Media Authority covering film screening procedures, media coordination, regulatory procedures, training and technical support. The federal body also became an official supporting partner of the festival. For a festival focused on what happens to filmmakers beyond workshops and screenings, the agreement brings federal backing into a local industry its directors say still has room to grow.