Sharjah Animation Conference Spotlights Growth and IP Challenges in Middle East and African Animation Sectors

During the Sharjah Animation and Comics Conference (SACC 2026), held from October 22 to 25 at Aljada, industry professionals explored the significant potential for animation growth in the Middle East and Africa. A key session titled "International Coproductions Beyond the Idea" featured insights from Pinetti, who emphasized that producers and artists from these regions could introduce fresh ideas and creative approaches to international projects, with promising opportunities to connect with audiences in Europe, North America, and Japan.

Pinetti stated, “What I believe is that the Middle East and Africa will be the future markets for animation. It's a great moment to connect the Middle East with Japan, as Japanese producers are starting to open up to international co-productions.” He urged regional producers to engage potential partners earlier in the development process, highlighting Japan’s collaborative model where producers, publishers, toy companies, and distributors align commercial interests and share investment from the outset.

He further noted that as financing becomes increasingly challenging, international co-production is gaining importance. A strong creative concept alone no longer suffices; producers must consider funding, distribution, publishing, and merchandising early on. Building professional networks and face-to-face relationships is critical to sustaining projects that often take years to reach the market.

Illustrating this approach, Pinetti cited the Italian-Japanese collaboration "Pino Shinobi," which progressed to production within six months after Studio Bozzetto representatives met Japanese broadcasting professionals at Expo 2025 Osaka—significantly faster than the typical two to three years for animation development.

In a separate panel titled "The IP Struggle and Building Regional Models," Arab animation executives discussed obstacles regional studios face in developing original intellectual property (IP), attracting investment, and reaching broader audiences.

Abdulrahman Khedr, co-founder of Egyptian animation company Giraffics Studio, identified distribution as a primary barrier to securing investment. He explained, “The issue for me was not financing; it was distribution. If distribution were in place, financing would follow.” Khedr recounted the development of an Egyptian animated feature inspired by the country’s cultural heritage, which garnered international interest at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Despite positive feedback, concerns about recouping production costs led the studio to limit upfront spending and seek firm financial commitments before advancing original projects.

Building on this, Nathalie Habib, co-owner and executive producer of Blink Studios, stressed that the commercial viability of original IP depends on planning beyond production costs. She advised studios to identify target audiences early and incorporate potential revenue streams such as licensing and merchandising from the start.

“When you build a character, a story and a world around it, they become assets you own. Those assets can go beyond distribution into licensing, merchandising and everything else that allows you to generate revenue from the characters you've created,” Habib said.

She referenced the Emirati animated series "Freej," which attracted family audiences during Ramadan but resonated more with adults than children. This audience profile complicated efforts to expand into merchandise like toys, underscoring the necessity of understanding target demographics to develop IP capable of generating revenue beyond broadcasting.

Organized by the Sharjah Book Authority, the fourth edition of SACC featured over 150 activities and more than 75 speakers from over 30 countries, reinforcing Sharjah’s role as a hub for animation and comics dialogue in the region.