Following a milestone eighth edition in 2025 that drew 900 participants from 55 countries, 230 buyers, and generated over 2,000 commercial meetings, the Dubai International Content Market (DICM) is preparing to host its ninth edition next November 10–11 at Madinat Jumeirah. The 2025 market established strong transactional momentum across the MENA region, driven by extensive international presence across major delegations from Türkiye, South Korea, and Russia, alongside broad buyer representation from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Gulf.
Building on that foundation, DICM has confirmed the return of “Spotlight Stories” for its upcoming 2026 edition. Taking place on November 11 as part of the market’s core programming, the live pitching competition offers a dedicated platform for emerging MENA storytellers and original Arabic-language scripted projects to present their slates directly to commissioning executives, distributors, producers, and platform buyers.
The evaluation and selection process is managed by content agency Writables. Its founder and CEO, Sinan Mawad, serves on the jury alongside television executive and content specialist Mishel Zreik, and Whitebee Media founder Madonna Khafaja. Beyond pitching exposure, the winning script will transition into funded development and production through an agreement with AFLAM Production, spearheaded by the company’s Head of Content, Malek Jaber.
Submissions are currently open to writers and creators across the MENA region with scripted concepts in Arabic. According to the organization, the initiative is structured to move past visibility by connecting regional intellectual property directly with industry feedback, commercial partnerships, and practical production pipelines within Dubai’s global marketplace.
