The third edition of the Shams Award for Arabic Content has attracted over 500 entries and added three new categories—screenwriting, original scores, and creative advertising— as submissions remain open until October 1.
By Imran Malik | Media & Culture Desk | SharjahNews.ae
Something significant is happening in Arabic content creation. And Sharjah is at the center of it.
The third edition of the Shams Award for Arabic Content 2026, organized by Sharjah Media City (Shams), has surpassed 500 entries before the submission deadline, a number that signals not just participation but momentum. A creative community is paying attention. And it is submitting its best work for judgment.
That matters because the Arabic content industry is not what it was two years ago. Production tools have transformed. Audiences have fragmented across dozens of platforms. AI has entered the creative process. And the creators who are navigating all of that simultaneously deserve a stage worthy of what they are building.
Shams is trying to build that stage.
Three New Categories That Signal a Shift
The most revealing development in this year’s edition is not the entry numbers. It is what the award has chosen to recognize for the first time.
Three new categories have been introduced: Best TV Series Screenwriter, Best Original Score for a Series or Film, and Best Creative Advertisement.
Read those three categories carefully. They represent a deliberate expansion of Arabic content recognition beyond the visible and into the essential. The writer whose script made a series worth watching. The composer whose score made the scene unforgettable. The creative team whose advertisement stopped the scroll.
These are the people who make everything work but rarely get the award. Shams is changing that.
The new categories join an existing lineup covering short films, AI-generated videos, content creation, podcasts, and acting, creating what Rashid Abdullah Al Obed, Director General of Sharjah Media City, described as “an integrated creative ecosystem where writing, visuals, sound, technology, and advertising intersect and continuously evolve alongside audiences and platforms.”
What Shams Is Actually Building
Al Obed’s language in describing the award’s ambition is worth reading closely because it goes beyond conventional awards ceremony thinking.
“Our ambition goes beyond celebrating winning works,” he said. “We aim to build a platform that helps discover talent, encourages creatives to develop their work, and gives Arabic content greater visibility and influence.”
That is a different kind of institutional commitment. Not a trophy ceremony. A talent ecosystem with professional judging panels, structured recognition across the full creative chain, and an explicit mission to give Arabic content greater reach and impact beyond its current audience boundaries.
For the UAE’s enormous community of content creators, media professionals, advertising creatives, and independent filmmakers, the Shams Award represents one of the Arab world’s most credible and fastest-growing professional recognition platforms.
The Deadline and Why It Matters
Submissions remain open until October 1, 2026, giving creators across the Arab world time to submit their strongest work across all categories.
The judging criteria cover quality of ideas, innovation, cultural and social impact, and artistic and technical excellence, assessed by specialized panels operating to professional standards.
For any Arabic content creator who has been working quietly on something genuinely good, October 1 is the deadline worth circling.
