10 New Filmmakers Awarded Coveted Pillars Artist Fellowship

Pillars Fund, Riz Ahmed and his production company, Left Handed Films, are excited to announce the newest cohort of the Pillars Artist Fellowship. The fellowship provides crucial financial and professional support for Muslim filmmakers, who are historically underrepresented in the entertainment industry. This year's fellows include a father and filmmaker moved to action by the uprisings in Ferguson, the only Arab director to win twice at the Venice Film Festival and an animator who mentors young filmmakers in refugee camps. The Pillars Artist Fellowship has been sponsored by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equityand Amazon MGM Studios since the inaugural cohort in 2022.

"We are immensely proud to be working alongside these principled, visionary, and courageous artists," says Arij Mikati, Pillars' Managing Director of Culture Change. "The competitive applicant pool of hundreds inspires me with an impossible-to-miss reminder: There is no shortage of Muslim storytellers prepared to share fresh, exciting narratives. All they need is the chance."

Each fellow receives an unrestricted $25,000 grant and mentorship from industry experts that includes insight for navigating the business, professional development and creative guidance in their fields. The fellows will attend all-inclusive learning retreats in New York City, London and Los Angeles and have access to a trailblazing advisory committee of award-winning Muslim actors, directors, producers and writers.

The eight months of programming are designed to catapult the fellows' careers and elevate their impact on culture and entertainment.

The 2024 Pillars Artist Fellows are:

• Jude Chehab, an acclaimed Lebanese-American filmmaker with a richly layered visual style, whose film "Q" was named one of the best documentaries of 2023 by Vogue. Her films go beyond the surface to showcase nuanced stories that give dignity to Muslim experiences without sacrificing authenticity.

• Mahnoor Euceph, an award-winning writer and director from Los Angeles who creates entertaining stories about the South Asian diaspora-stories that seek to decolonize minds and encourage radical self-love. She is developing her film "Brown Girl" with Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini and Dr. Stacy L. Smith's Proof of Concept Accelerator.

• Amber Fares, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer in New York City whose work is on some of the biggest platforms, such as "Convergence: Courage in a Crisis" on Netflix and "We are Ayenda" on Amazon Prime Video. She spent years in the Middle East, and much of her work brings Arabs to the forefront, highlighting their stories, culture and aspirations.

• Nuhash Humayun, a Bangladeshi-American writer and director creating unique films that meld horror and South Asian culture. Based in Texas, his horror anthology film "Pett Kata Shaw" won Best International Feature at the Raindance Film Festival, while his SXSW-winning short film "Moshari" is the first Oscar-qualifying film from Bangladesh.

• Soudade Kaadan, an acclaimed Syrian director who is the only Arab director to win twice at the Venice Film Festival, including one win for "The Day I Lost My Shadow." Now based in London, her relatable and authentic fiction films are a way for her to preserve cultures being decimated by war.

• Liam LoPinto, an Iranian-American filmmaker and animator from New York City. His acclaimed work, including "The Old Young Crow," spotlights diaspora, refugees, immigrants and dissidents and reclaims identities that are too often unjustly vilified. Liam mentors young Syrian refugees in filmmaking.

• Aiman Mimiko, an award-winning Nigerian-American writer and director based in Los Angeles who is currently developing his first feature, "Quarters." Aiman's incredible life experiences are the basis for his acclaimed film and TV work, which centers and uplifts African and Muslim perspectives while challenging problematic assumptions.

• Maryam Mir, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker whose background and life span the globe, from Kashmir to Germany to Kenya to Bahrain. Her award-winning work, including "Sweet Refuge," tells stories that honor and uplift the joy, warmth and gentleness of her many communities.

• Warda Mohamed, a BIFA-nominated filmmaker. Her debut narrative short "MUNA" was backed by BBC Film and made its International Premiere at the 74th Berlinale Film Festival. She is currently developing her debut feature screenplay "MOON" with BBC Film and Working Title, and her debut TV pilot as part of this year's cohort on the prestigious Channel 4 Screenwriting course.

• Mobolaji Olambiwonnu, an award-winning director and storyteller based in Southern California. His work, including "Ferguson Rises," centers social justice, humanizes Black men and their unique experiences and is inspired by his young son. He sees cinema as a tool to help audiences shed their prejudices.

"We are honored to be working with the amazing team at Pillars Fund," says Left Handed Films. "Together, we're proud to have selected such a promising cohort of emerging filmmakers for this unique program. The Pillars Artist Fellowship has created a community of outstanding Muslim artists with so many successes already under their belt, and we can't wait to see its legacy continue to grow."

Learn more about each fellow and see their photos in the press kit.

The Pillars Artist Fellowship Advisory Committee includes:Riz Ahmed, Bisha K. Ali, Mahershala Ali, Sana Amanat, Karim Amer, Mo Amer, Rosa Attab, Jessica Beshir, May Calamawy, Yann Mounir Demange, Mohamed Diab, Sarah Goher, Sahar Jahani, Zainab Johnson, Lena Khan, Nida Manzoor, Hasan Minhaj, Nijla Mu'min, Amina Munir, Jehane Noujaim, Aida Osman, Saagar Shaikh, Bassam Tariq, Ramy Youssef

ABOUT PILLARS FUND

Pillars Fund amplifies the leadership, narratives, and talents of Muslims in the United States to advance opportunity and justice for all. Since our founding in 2010, Pillars has distributed more than $12 million in grants to Muslim organizations and leaders who advance social good. We invest in community-focused initiatives, push back against harmful narratives, uplift Muslim storytellers, and organize Muslim donors to give together strategically. Learn more at pillarsfund.org.

ABOUT LEFT HANDED FILMS

Left Handed is the production company started by  Riz  Ahmed, focused on stretching culture with bold stories. The company continues to have a first look deal with Amazon MGM Studios which was announced in January 2021.   Allie  Moore  oversees production and development for film and television. Left Handed is currently in pre-production on a comedy series for Amazon Prime Video created, written by and starring Ahmed. He will also serve as a co-showrunner alongside Ben Karlin ("Modern Family"). It follows a struggling actor, named Shah Latif, who's on the cusp of landing a breakthrough role when he finds himself thrust into a full-blown existential crisis and trippy conspiracy thriller all at the same time.

Left Handed won the Academy  Award for  Best Live Action Short Film  with "The Long Goodbye" in 2022 and made history the same year with  Jonas Poher Rasmussen's "Flee" the first movie to earn Oscar nominations in the categories of Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature.  Most recently, Left Handed executive produced Saim Sadiq's film, "Joyland," the first Pakistani  film at Cannes, which won both the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and Queer Palm, as well as the  Indie Spirit Award for Best  International  Feature in 2023. The company's debut feature "Mogul Mowgli," directed by Bassam Tariq, won the International Critics' Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, was nominated for a BAFTA Award for 'Best British Film' and received six British Independent Film Awards nominations, with the film taking home 'Best Debut Screenwriter' for Ahmed and 'Best Music.'  Left  Handed currently has a wide-ranging slate of upcoming projects including a reimagining of "Hamlet" from Aneil Karia which is in post-production and an adaptation of Booker Prize Nominated Novel Exit West for Netflix in partnership with the Obamas' Higher Ground Productions and Joe and Anthony Russo's AGBO.

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