Fablemill is a female-led collaboration that has been awarded first place in the inaugural StartUp Bahrain Pitch event for 2023.

A boutique production house and advisory firm, Fablemill was among seven local startups that pitched their concepts for potential investment opportunities, held last April in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Labour Fund (Tamkeen), Economic Development Board, and Bahrain Development Bank.

Eman Alsabah, Co-Founder & CEO of Fablemill

The startups pitched technology-based concepts that provided innovative solutions within various sectors, such as filmmaking, food and hospitality, education, tourism, real estate, gaming, creative industries, and more.

With its inception, the firm has driven positive disruption in Bahrain’s filmmaking industry. While it shatters gender stereotypes with a management team that is predominantly female, it adds a new dimension to the genre with how it utilizes modern generation film techniques to tell stories that weave the myths, legends and folklore of the old Arab world; dissecting local ‘fables’ through the magic of filmmaking and the distinct voice of Arabic storytelling.

In this 2^nd installment of our BAHRAIN’S SUCCESSFUL STARTUPS series, BEntrepreneur interviews Eman Alsabah, Co-Founder & CEO of Fablemill who shares her insights on winning the Pitch and growing the vision of Fablemill.

How was Fablemill founded? What is the ‘big idea’ which inspired you to establish the business? How did you prepare for this venture?

Fablemill was founded in 2021 with a clear mission to address the lack of representation of Arab voices in mainstream media and to produce unique narratives of unexplored topics. After spending many years working in the corporate world, we decided to pursue our passion and start a content studio that celebrates our heritage and culture. Within a year of founding, Fablemill had successfully become an award-winning production company.

Our female-led production house focuses on fostering creatives across different roles in film and television production. By channeling local heritage, traditions, and mythology, we develop stories that showcase the region to a global audience. We are committed to ensuring female representation and carving out a space for filmmakers and creatives in the GCC to grow.

What biggest challenges did you face in your entrepreneurial journey and how did you overcome them?

Fablemill is working to create a global brand in a nascent industry in Bahrain, a process which comes with its own unique challenges. The policies, regulations, incentives and specialized talent to compete globally are still in development. However, many parties in Bahrain are energized to grow the industry and it is an exciting time to work together.

We work with international productions to further our projects, and we also invest in the local landscape to help move the industry forward. We recently attended the Cannes Film Festival along with other Bahraini filmmakers.

What enabled you to accelerate your startup journey in terms of support, guidance, training, etc?

Our entire team is driven by passion for filmmaking and showcasing Arab stories. That has really helped accelerate our growth. We are also fortunate to have a team with a varied corporate background in entertainment, consulting, engineering, and other business streams. That has enabled us to expand into entertainment advisory to work on exciting strategic projects.

What motivates/ drives you to sustain your performance?

It may sound cliche, but we are driven every day by our mission and passion for storytelling, and in particular, amplifying local stories. We grew up watching television and movies that told powerful stories… about other cultures. We want the next generation to see themselves represented on the screen.

How do you position Fablemill against the competition? What unique benefits do you offer to stand out in the market?

We are collaborative by nature, and believe that the entertainment and media space is not a zero-sum game. We must all work together to build and grow the industry. The more film, television, and other projects we see on the screen… the more powerful an industry we can create.

We often work with other filmmakers as producers and writers. Our focus is on creative production, so we are uniquely positioned to help other creatives solidify their concepts, sharpen their scripts and obtain funding. We help them manage the ‘business process’ so they can focus on their art.

What are the latest developments in the company? In terms of operations, products and services, expansion activities, etc. 

We just came back from the Cannes Film Festival, where we had the unique privilege of meeting and connecting with distributors, producers, filmmakers, and industry executives at large. We pitched three of our ongoing projects and got incredible traction and feedback. We are currently in discussions with international co-producers to bring these projects to life.

At the same time, we have a TV series in post-production, which is set to be released at the end of this year. We are simultaneously launching our publishing arm soon, with a focus on Arab folklore that we all love. Stay tuned!

What are your future plans for Fablemill?

We currently have nine productions underway, so we are indeed very busy. Our plans for 2023 and beyond include expanding the team, diversifying our production pipeline, and securing out co-production opportunities on our existing projects. You can follow our future plans on Instagram at @fablemillofficial. Reach out if you want to work with us!