The Guest: Aleppo-Istanbul Takes Part in the Sharjah International Children's Film Festival in the UAE

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Screens on Wednesday, October 17

The Guest: Aleppo-Istanbul Takes Part in the Sharjah International Children's Film Festival in the UAE


The Guest: Aleppo-Istanbul by Turkish director Andaç Haznederoğlu, and starring Jordanian actress Saba Mubarak, has been selected to take part in the Sharjah International Children's Film Festival (SICFF)in the UAE (October 14-19). The film will screen on Wednesday, October 17.

Launched in 2013, the Sharjah International Children's Film Festival (SICFF) is the first children film festival in the UAE and the region. Held every October, the festival is dedicated to enhance the media literacy of children and young people and foster children's creativity.

The Guest: Aleppo-Istanbul follows the journey of Lena and Meryem during their escape from the war in Syria. Lena is a ten-year-old girl who has lost her family in the war. She finds herself forced to make her way to Turkey with her baby sister and their neighbor Meryem, along with the other refugees. Lena wants to return home, while Meryem's hope is to reach Europe.

Written and directed by Turkish director Andaç Haznederoğlu, The Guest: Aleppo-Istanbul stars Saba Mubarak and child Rawan Skeif, alongside a number of real Syrian refugees who are acting for the first time. The film is a co-production between the Turkish companies; Andaç Film Productions, Istanbul Digital (ID) and Istanbul Film Production (IFP); and the Jordanian company Pan East Media. The film project received financial support from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. MAD Solutions is handling the film's distribution in the Arab world.

Recently, The Guest: Aleppo-Istanbul was released in Jordanian theaters, closed the 8th Arab Film Festival-Amman and took part in the Arab Film Festival in Korea. The film won several awards, including the Audience Award at the Antalya Film Festival in Turkey, where it made its world premiere, the Best Feature and Best Actress awardsat the Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) in Ireland, as well as the Best Feature Film and Best Editing awards in the National Feature Films Competition of the International Bosphorus Film Festival. The film was also screened at the European Film Market (EFM), held as part of the Berlin International Film Festival, Arab Women Film Festival in Sweden, LET'S CEE Film Festival in Vienna and the Manarat Mediterranean Film Festival in Tunisia.