New online film festival to screen works from the Middle East and Latin America

The Sharjah Art Foundation project will feature the works of 21 artists exploring links between the two regions

Films will be shown on Sharjah Art Foundation's streaming platform. Sharjah Art Foundation

A number of films from the Middle East and Latin America will be screened online next month, in a programme designed to explore the relationships between artists in the two regions.

The project is organised by Sharjah Art Foundation and curated by Anna Goetz, who works between Basel and Mexico City.

Titled Genealogies in the Middle East and Latin America, the programme will explore the historical and contemporary relationship between artists through the screening of 21 works.

The concept has been designed to highlight shared histories of colonisation and the close links developed through several cycles of migration over the past 150 years.

Following the format of a chain letter, artists will determine the work that will succeed theirs.

The chain begins with Alia Farid's Theatre of Operations (2017) that reflects the artist's background, which is rooted in and between Latin America as much as the Middle East.

Farid will then launch the series by proposing two works from these regions that have been influential to her work.

The videos will be presented consecutively, with each of the respective artists inviting the participation of another artist to follow. Thus, the programme unfolds.

Artists taking part in the project include Farid, Mounira Al Solh, Francis Alys, Claudia Aravena Abughosh, Arias & Aragon, Guillermo Cifuentes, Gilda Mantilla and Raimond Chaves, Oscar Munoz, Enrique Ramirez, Elena Tejada-Herrera, Maya Watanabe and Akram Zaatari.

The films will be showcased via Sharjah Art Foundation's virtual screening platform. Starting from Tuesday, June 1, a film or video will be released every day for 21 days.

However, all works will be available for streaming until Sunday, July 11.

Admission is free. More information is at sharjahart.org