SHARJAH: Omani actress Buthaina Al Raisi has been chosen as a jury member of the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth from October 10 to 15.

The 15-member jury members hail from 11 Arab and other foreign countries and will evaluate the films of the ninth session of the festival. The committees include filmmakers, directors, film experts, directors of television channels and film festivals, media professionals, and university professors.

The judges are divided into six categories – student-made films, short Gulf films, short fiction films, animation films, documentaries, and feature films.

Buthaina has been chosen as part of the jury for the Short Gulf Films category and the committee includes Kuwaiti writer Heba Mishari Hamada and Emirati director Hani Al Shaibani.

The jury for the Student-Made Films category includes Emirati filmmaker Amal Al-Duwailah, Nadia Rahman, and Belgian film expert Siona Vidakovic.

The jury for the Short Narrative Films category is composed of: Emirati director Masoud Amrallah Al Ali, and writer, producer and director Yasser Al Yasiri.

Saudi expert Sarah Mohammed Waldada, Emirati producer and director Maryam Al Serkal and Canadian-American director Laurie Gordon will be the jury for the Animated Films category.

The jury for the Documentary Films category includes the journalist, writer and producer Ahmed Shehab El-Din, the Syrian media and director Waad Al-Khatib, and the Kenyan expert, Susan Mbogo. While the jury for the Feature Films category will witness the participation of Emirati director Nawaf Al-Janahi and Aida Al-Hassani.

While ranking the films, the jury will adopt criteria such as idea and purpose of the work, the degree of mastery of execution, the elements of creativity and innovation, the presentation method, the techniques used, organization, and other criteria.