Riz Ahmed’s Left Handed Films and Pillars Fund Announce Inaugural Fellowship Recipients (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Angelique Jackson In June 2021, Oscar-nominee and Emmy-winner Riz Ahmed and Pillars Fund’s Kashif Shaikh and Arij Mikati outlined the urgent need for more Muslim representation in the entertainment industry, both in front of and behind the camera, during an extensive interview with Variety.The trio announced plans to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative, dubbed the Pillars Artist Fellowship, with a mission to provide resources and mentorship to a group of talented Muslim artists to help them use their talents to change the game in the film and television industries.

Today, Pillars Fund, Ahmed and his Left Handed Films banner unveil the inaugural cohort of fellows.“We spent months getting to know many talented candidates,” stated Shaikh, Pillars Fund’s co-founder and president. “We are honored to work with these incredible artists and are excited to provide them resources to reach even greater heights in the coming year.” Sponsored by Netflix and Amazon Studios, the fellowship offers unrestricted $25,000 awards to 10 emerging Muslim directors and screenwriters, seven from the U.S.

and three from the U.K. The filmmaker’s expertise spans genre and medium, including fellows with experience in documentary, short film and feature film.The 2022 Pillars Artist Fellows (pictured above, from left to right) are: Fateme Ahmadi (director, London); Zeshawn Ali (director, New York); Aqsa Altaf (director, Los Angeles); Nausheen Dadabhoy (director, New York); Imran J.

Khan (director, Los Angeles); Karim Khan, (writer, Oxford, U.K.); Myriam Raja (director, London); Nadra Widatalla (writer, Los Angeles); Farida Zahran (director, New York); and Ali Imran Zaidi (writer, Los Angeles).In addition to the financial award, the fellowship.