Children Enjoying Unrestricted Freedom to Indulge their Curiosity at SCRF 2021

Learning the techniques of slow-motion photography at a workshop, they expand their creative boundaries at the 12th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival

Sharjah, 25 May 2021:  The Slow-Motion Feelings Workshop at the 12th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival is packed with eager children ready to explore the limits of their curiosity and learn how dropping a toy in all-purpose flour or a lemon in water can be digitally manipulated into a delightful slow-motion video through the art of photography. 

Divided into small groups of two and three, kids at the bilingual workshop are encouraged to work together to choose an object from a variety of props and decide what they would like to do with it. After the activity has been photographed and turned into a video by the workshop presenter, children are awe-inspired to watch the way the bright yellow duck falls in the flour bowl creating a slow powdery blow-out, and the lemon gracefully displacing the water in the transparent glass bowl. 

The expression on the children’s faces is also worth capturing. 

“Each time, the children get curious to see what will happen,” says Sara Mezher, filmmaker and creative workshop facilitator. “The workshop helps develop their imagination and also their skills of communication, as they learn how to express themselves. I ask them to try and describe what they imagine so I can help translate the thought into visuals,” she adds.

Between the fact that the session gives kids the opportunity to interact with their peers in a safe, regulated environment after more than a year of Covid-19 restrictions, and, that they are allowed to create a decent size mess during the session, the workshop helps children gain confidence to explore their ideas and learn a thing or two about both digital photography, editing and video production. 

Several creative workshops related to Art, Science, Writing, Robotics and more are taking place at the 11-day Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival which runs until May 29 at Expo Centre Sharjah. 
172 publishers from 15 countries across the globe are showcasing their books and literary material at the event themed 'For Your Imagination’.