Films, filmmaking in focus at Xposure 2026 in Sharjah

Film plays a central role at the Xposure International Photography Festival 2026, with a dedicated Cinema programme and an expanded slate of film-focused workshops shaping a comprehensive space for moving-image storytelling.

Across screenings, discussions, and hands-on learning, the festival presents cinema as a powerful visual language.

The Xposure Cinema programme brings together documentaries, short films, animations, and feature-length works from across the globe, with an emphasis on human stories, social memory, cultural identity, environmental awareness, and personal experience.

The screening schedule features notable works such as the powerful Portuguese documentary Wilder Côa (Jan.30), and the Sudanese drama Goodbye Julia (Feb.4), thought-provoking titles like Afrikaner Blood (Jan.30), which explores identity in post-apartheid South Africa, and Heart of Stone (Feb.1), a documentary chronicling a young Afghan refugee’s journey in France.

Among the featured documentaries is Milk Brothers (screening on Feb.1), which follows the unlikely lifelong bond between two men born on opposite sides of a political divide, revealing how shared history and emotional ties persist amid separation.

You Will Be Swedish, My Daughter (Feb.1) traces a documentary in which a Syrian couple living in Sweden recount their journey into exile to their youngest daughter.

Historical memory and contested space are examined in Lyd (Feb.2), a documentary that revisits the layered past and present of the city of Lod/Lydda, while FarFour – A War Diary from Gaza (Feb.3) offers an intimate account of a war-affected child who clings to the only companion he has left amid the ruins – a cat.

Environmental and wildlife storytelling also features prominently.

Wild Isles – Grasslands (Feb.3), which follows the famous David Attenborough with cinematography by Simon King, immerses viewers in fragile ecosystems, observing the interdependence between species and landscapes.

In parallel with the Cinema screenings, Xposure 2026 presents a robust film workshop programme designed for filmmakers, photographers transitioning into motion, students, and visual storytellers working across formats.

These workshops focus on craft, authorship, ethics, and industry realities.

The headline workshop “The Best Way To Learn How To Make A Film – Is To Make A Film,” taking place on Jan.30 and 31 is guided by Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Desmond Roe.

Over two intensive days, participants will work collaboratively to create a complete short film, progressing through the essential stages of pre-production, production, and post-production.

On Feb.1, “Script to Stage: Creative Workshop in Screenwriting and Acting,” presented by B7A Studios, will be a high-energy, two-hour session introducing the essentials of story structure, character building, and scene construction, and moving quickly to scriptwriting and collaborative scene generation.

Participants then dive into basic acting techniques before performing their own original scripts on stage.

For content creators, “Edit Smart: Video Creation for Social Media” on Feb.2 promises to be the magic potion for anyone looking to master video editing for platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.

Also on the same day, the fast-paced masterclass “Acting Lessons: An Introduction to Professional Acting” led by director and screenwriter Sergios DeLaurentis, will introduce young performers (ages 17–25) to the foundational skills of professional acting, covering improvisation, vocal technique, overcoming stage fright, and developing authentic dialogue delivery.

Additional sessions explore documentary ethics, cinematic storytelling for social impact, sound design, and visual research.

Held from Jan.29 to Feb.4, 2026 at Aljada, Sharjah, Xposure 2026 continues its tenth-edition theme, “A Decade of Visual Storytelling,” by placing cinema firmly within its broader visual landscape - alongside photography, film, and visual arts, inviting audiences to experience stories that unfold frame by frame, moment by moment.