About Us
Fikra - The Idea
Fikra is a Stockholm based company founded in 2015 with a mission to develop, facilitate and implement creative projects between Scandinavia and the Middle East, and aiming to become the natural partner for bi-cultural endeavours.
Together we combine over 30 years of experience in international business development, and film and media production offering a deep understanding of cross-cultural communications and the creative industries.
Fikra means "idea" in Arabic, and we chose that name because we believe that ideas are the key drivers in the world, in arts as well as in business. Everything begins with an idea!
Our clients come mainly from the film industry, advertising industry, entertainment technologies and digital services. We also work with more traditional industries, public sector and sometimes in collaboration with other consultants.
Our cross cultural roots, experiences and influences have made us passionate about using the power of the creative mediums to make a difference.
What We Do
Creative Collaborators
Fikra is divided into two branches;
The film production part focuses on developing and producing our own film & TV ideas, as well as collaborating with other creative storytellers to co-develop and co-produce projects.
The second arm is to provide professional services to clients, predominantly within the creative industries, both through practical hands-on services, as well as business development and strategic advice.
We offer a wide range of services including:
- Film Development and Production
- Creative Collaborations
- Facilitating Production Services
- Business Consulting & International Business Development
- Market Research and Analysis
- Training and Coaching in Cross-Cultural Communications and Market Intelligence.
Who We Are
We are passionate about working in the creative field, telling stories, & bridging the cultural gap...
Patrick El-Cheikh
Co-Founder & CEO
Born to a Swedish mother and a Lebanese father, Patrick was raised between Algeria and Sweden in the 70's and 80's. A cross-cultural breed by both breed and environment, he has been involved in cross-cultural communication and international business development since the start of his career .
After graduating from university, Patrick co-founded a web design company already back in 1996. He later spent some 15 years with Business Sweden (the Swedish Trade and Invest Council) among others as head of the Swedish trade office in Riyadh, Key Account Managerand starting up and managing special business units for Creative and Cultural Industries, ICT and Entertainment Technologies. He was also Vice President for a Saudi-based multidisciplinary IT-company that was at the time ranked as one of the top 10 fastest growing companies in the country.
Equipped with extensive experience of what is needed to grow an international venture and a profound understanding of the Creative Industries, in combination with a life long passion for cinema, Patrick co-founded Fikra together with Linda Mutawi in 2015. Patrick is a business graduate from Stockholm University with specialization in international management.
Linda Mutawi
Co-Founder & Producer
Linda is a multicultural film producer based in Stockholm-Sweden. She has been working in the film industry for over 23 years in countries such as the UK, UAE, & Jordan. In 2013 Linda moved to Sweden, where she co- founded Fikra, a Stockholm based company focused on developing and producing creative and cross- cultural projects between Scandinavia and the Middle East. She also spent several years working with ATMO - one of Sweden’s most acclaimed production companies- where she became an integral part of the producing team on their three most recent award-winning films; “The Nile Hilton Incident” (2017) directed by Tarik Saleh, “Swoon” (2019) by Mårlind& Stein, and their most recent success “Boy from Heaven” (2022) by Tarik Saleh, which was Sweden's official entry to the Oscars.
In 2023 Linda released a documentary feature film titled ‘Dreams of Djenné’ which was screened in over 25 locations across Sweden. Linda is currently preparing to release another feature documentary film she produced titled “The Children of Camp Ashraf”, which had its world premiere at the Gothenburg Film Festival in January 2024, and has been selected for the official competition at the Tempo Documentary Film Festival in March. Linda is also producing Tarik Saleh’s upcoming feature film ”Eagles ofthe Republic” set to go into production in spring 2024.
Prior to moving to Sweden, Linda was involved in many international co-productions. She had a multitude of roles within the film industry, she served as Head of Production Services at The Royal Film Commission of Jordan, where she was involved in many high profile Hollywood and European films. Before that, she also lived in Dubai for several years, where she was one of the pioneers of the Dubai film industry. Linda is a graduate of both The Producers Guild of America's diversity workshop, and the prestigious EAVE Producers Workshop 2022.
Our Clients
Some of our clients...
ATMO Films http://www.atmo.se
B-Reel https://www.b-reel.com
DDB House Agency http://www.ddb.se
Fido Film http://www.fido.se
Filmregion Stockholm- Mälardalen http://www.frsm.se
Frontier Middle East FZ http://www.frontier.fi
Goodbye Kansas Group http://goodbyekansasgroup.com
Idyll Films http://www.idyll.se
IFS / Int'Link http://intlink.se/sv/
Imagination Studios http://www.imaginationstudios.com
Minority Rights Group UK http://minorityrights.org/cultural-programmes/middle-east-and-north-africa-drama-diversity-and-development/
Mobile Casting http://www.mobilecasting.se
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce http://www.chamber.seSwedish Film Institute http://www.filminstitutet.se
Tillväxverket https://tillvaxtverket.se
Contact Us
Address:
Katrinebergsbacken 26
117 61 Stockholm
Sweden
Phone: +46 (0) 70 886 8530
Email: info@fikra.se
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