Young animators learn a variety of stop motion tricks to tell their stories creatively      

For immediate release
Sharjah, January 24, 2018

Continuing their efforts to make media arts accessible, fun and creative for the younger generation, FUNN – Sharjah Media Arts for Youth and Children, has concluded its 5-day FUNNtastic Winter Camp for children with special needs. At the heart of this creative endeavour is clay modeling and stop motion animation.  

A group of vibrant, warm and confident young ladies from the Awladouna Center for People with Disabilities in Sharjah have spent sunny winter mornings at the Sharjah Classic Cars Museum – a place that proudly guards the rich automotive heritage of the world – getting their feet wet with the basics of clay animation.  

Hands-on workshops and creative activities for children with special abilities have a proven track record of developing their motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and offering them a unique platform for expression. It is highly recommended by doctors and special needs experts, who say that these activities often require them teamwork or a heightened level of interaction, and go a long way in tackling sensory issues, communication challenges or the children’s difficulties with developing social skills.

“At FUNN, we strongly believe that exploring ones creative potential and nurturing an interest in the media arts is an entitlement that our children must enjoy irrespective of their physical and mental ability or social standing. By exercising our vision, we seek to encourage, empower, educate and entertain children through interactive workshops like these that are both fun and creative. The FUNNtastic Winter Camp has been designed to improve communication and literacy in special needs children, while channeling their creativity and imagination in a productive way,” said Sheikha Aisha Al Mualla – Events and Programs Coordinator.

Workshop trainer, Jamila Ibrahim Al Mualla, commended FUNN’s efforts in promoting inclusive growth and development in local community, and commented on the value a project like this adds to the lives of children, saying: “Stop Motion Animation is an excellent way to have students begin to explore the world of movie making.  We chose to work with clay because many children with special needs have challenges with their fine motor skills, and building things with their hands is one of the best ways to improve that. FUNN is providing the younger generations with a fantastic platform to challenge their imagination and nurture their interest in the media arts, and this camp is a fine example.”

“You come in thinking you will require to put in some extra effort to allow these children a solid understanding and execution of the job at hand, and you are proved completely wrong. I have been working with the girls for four days and I can count the number of times I’ve had to repeat an instruction or spoon feed them.  I am pleasantly surprised to see how intuitive, sensitive and bright these children are. Some of them have even worked on their own projects on the side, worked on their own clay models, downloaded a stop motion app on their phones, and made their own movie! They have expressed their creativity in ways I have not seen before,” she added.    

Brides and grooms, mystical forests, duck ponds, rabbits, snails, turtles, and dinosaurs… the girls are not stopping at anything to turn their stop motion movies into a complete spectacle. Their work will be screened at the 2018 edition of the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF).

Other features of the FUNNtastic Winter Camp included a range of interesting activities and games for its participants, including color contests, finding the missing objects, and more.

FUNN was established in November 2012 under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. FUNN is the emirate’s nucleus for the promotion of interest and excellence in creative and media arts among children and the youth in Sharjah and the rest of the UAE.

FUNN aims to nurture a future generation of creative artists in media and film. It is seen promoting new media works and films made by children and young filmmakers of the UAE at international film festivals, and conferences worldwide. Their larger goal is to foster talent through these festivals, conferences and workshops at both locally and internationally, and form a close-knit network of talented youth who can share experiences and expertise on a global scale.