Animation projects can take years to finance, say experts at Sharjah event
- Last updated: October 25, 2026 | 13:04
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
Financing, early partnerships and audience-building are becoming as important as the creative idea itself in getting animation projects into production, industry professionals said at the Sharjah Animation and Comics Conference (SACC) 2026.
During the roundtable How Animation Deals Get Made, moderated by media consultant Nisrine Zawahra, animation expert Olfa Sakakibara, Abdullah Moatasem, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Sinai Studios, and Mahmoud Hemeda, CEO and Co-Founder of Samaka Studio, discussed why animation projects can take years to finance and produce, and how involving broadcasters, investors and audiences earlier can improve their chances of moving forward.
Bring buyers in early
Hemeda said financing original IP remains a major challenge for studios in the region.
“The idea is the core of the project, but without a budget we can't execute it. Good ideas are not enough right now, because deals are really hard at the moment,” said the CEO of Samaka Studio. “The deal doesn't start when you sign it. It starts way before that, with every conversation and every step you take.”
He said studios often lose years developing an idea alone and then reworking it endlessly after rejections. Samaka now brings broadcasters into the conversation before the idea is fixed. Hemeda also pointed to building an online fanbase early as one-way studios can demonstrate demand and strengthen the case for investment or co-production.
Waiting for the first precedent
Moatasem, of Sinai Studios, said regional investors are used to live-action projects that recoup costs quickly, which makes slow and expensive animation look risky.
“It needs a lot of force at the beginning, like moving a very big ball. We need to design the first precedent that gets it rolling,” he said. “We have the audiences, and they already watch animated films. We just need one investor passionate enough to take the risk with us to build something big.”
He said Sinai is combining AI with artists to lower that risk, but insisted the artist must stay in charge. He said the studio is also developing stories rooted in regional culture and perspectives that remain underrepresented in mainstream animation.
Five years and a merchandise model
Sakakibara, an animation expert with extensive experience in the Japanese industry, said, every deal begins long before the paperwork.
“It always starts with one character, one idea. I want to say one dream, and it's real,” she said. “Someone has one vision. Then it's the whole development, the production, distribution, promotion and marketing. It's not only the deal itself, but all the collaboration that pushes a character from that first idea until it grows and becomes famous.”
That journey takes time. "It's five years from the time we start discussions to the time we are on screen," she said, adding that merchandising is where animation pulls ahead of live action commercially. "In live action, we don't see merchandising the way we do in animation. It's an amazing space, and for us it's about half of our revenue," she said.
Panellists also called for greater collaboration between regional studios and across generations of animators, arguing that stronger networks could help more projects move from development into production and international markets.