Our Participation at Sharjah Animation and Comics Conference 2026
Amidst this renewed backdrop, Frost Feather made a striking appearance, combining a showcase of our finest creative work with interactive experiences, an exchange of expertise, and new openings for dialogue about the future of the creative industries across the MENA region.
We took part as we established our own booth in the Business section, offering visitors an interactive introduction that walked them through the company’s services and its varied areas of creative production, from comics and animation to the creative solutions that reflect our production journey and our ambitions for the future. The booth was a place to get to know our work, explore our approach to developing content, and speak directly with enthusiasts and specialists from across the creative industries.
Among the highlights that drew the most interest was the virtual screening experience of the film Sharkarma. We localized its content into Arabic, covering writing, translation and voice over, with careful attention to cultural and linguistic nuance and to what suits the target generation of audiences. We did so in collaboration with V-Nova, a company specializing in virtual reality. The experience reflected how valuable it is to bring creative storytelling and modern technology together, producing content that connects more closely with its audience and keeps pace with the rapid shifts in how people consume and engage with media.
We also shared the distilled lessons of our vast experience in specialized research in the creative sector in the MENA region. We believe that developing the creative industries is not a matter of production alone as it calls for a deeper understanding of the sector as it really is, a study of its needs, and a search for the opportunities that can strengthen its growth and sustainability.
Extending this presence, we took part, at the kind invitation of the UAE Ministry of Culture, in the opening panel discussion on how to support local creatives and accompany them on their journey, with all the challenges and obstacles that entails. The conversation also highlighted the experience and guidance creatives need to develop their careers, and how they can learn from the creative professionals who walked the path before them. Representing us on the panel was Almegdad Salih, Director of Creatives Affairs, who brings extensive experience in managing content and creative communities, alongside Fadel Al Mheiri and Ahmed Bafadhl.
The session covered a range of themes close to the reality of creatives in the region and answered questions that come up again and again along a professional path: from the challenges of developing their work and finding suitable opportunities for it, to the value of drawing on accumulated experience and building creative careers that can last and grow. It was also a chance to exchange perspectives and experiences, and to shed light on the importance of mentorship and connection between creative generations in building an environment that better supports local talent.
Among the creative workshops that accompanied the conference, Almegdad Salih led a session in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Culture on building inspiring characters in comics and animation. He highlighted the elements that allow a character to take root in memory and leave its mark on the imagination of viewers and readers. The workshop traced the journey of creating characters who outgrow the work they belong to and become part of their audience’s collective memory, drawing on models and approaches from a variety of international schools of character design and development.
It also explored how to apply the lessons of those experiences to the MENA and local production, so as to create characters with an identity of their own that express their cultural context and can still connect with a wider audience. The workshop began from a core idea: a memorable character is not merely a set of drawn features or a role a hero plays within a narrative. It is a complete creative construction, in which idea, design, behavior and story context come together to create an experience that stays present in the minds of the audience.
Within the Business section’s program, we also hosted a panel discussion on the philosophy of the creative mind and how it shapes the production of animation, seen from the perspective of illustrators and their creative practice. We were honored to welcome Dr. Sarah Willard of the United Arab Emirates University and the gifted illustrator Vishnu Prasad, with Almegdad Salih moderating a lively conversation.
It explored the relationship between creative thinking and artistic practice, and how visual ideas take shape and evolve until they become works of art. It also gave attendees the chance to look more deeply at different views on the nature of the creative process, and on the role of imagination and personal experience in forming a visual language that expresses the artist and enriches their work and projects. The conversation was never only about the technical side of making animation. It reached beyond the image, towards the mind that shapes it, the ideas that give it meaning, and the human experience that makes it resonate with its audience.
Our booth drew a remarkable turnout of entrepreneurs, company representatives, local creatives and international talent, a gathering that reflected the range of interests the creative industries bring together, and the importance of spaces where people with ideas, producers and specialists can meet, share expertise and explore opportunities to collaborate. The participation was an occasion to introduce our fields of work and creative output, strengthen our presence on the local scene, and put forward our vision for developing content, supporting creatives, and helping build an environment that embraces innovation and gives ideas more room to grow into tangible projects.
It also continues our efforts to bring together art, creativity, knowledge and production, from our conviction that a thriving creative sector is not achieved by individuals and institutions each working alone, but through an integrated ecosystem that brings together talent, expertise, resources and opportunity, and opens the way to collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Our participation in Sharjah Animation and Comics Conference 2026 (SACC) adds a new chapter to our creative journey and marks another step toward contributing to the development of the creative industries in the United Arab Emirates and MENA region.
Between an idea being shaped, a character being created, an experience being lived, and a conversation opening a new door to understanding, we continue to explore what creativity can do and how to continuously turn it into a lasting impact that pulses with life. We believe that every new achievement is not the conclusion of a chapter in our story, but a fresh beginning, opening wider horizons that deserve to be discovered and built.
