Applications reopen for Pillars Artist Fellowship

After a five-month hiatus due to the Writers Guild of America strike, applications for the 2024-25 Pillars Artist Fellowship are reopening for Muslim directors and screenwriters in the U.S. and U.K. through October 31.

Building on a successful inaugural year in 2022 and sponsored by Netflix and Amazon MGM Studios, the 2024-25 Pillars Artist Fellowship supports Muslim creators whose presence behind the screen will be game-changing for the entertainment industry. Selected fellows will each receive an unrestricted award of $25,000, high-quality one-on-one mentorship, professional development in their field and access to a trailblazing advisory committee of award-winning actors, directors, producers, and writers.

“Muslim artists are the past, present, and future of entertainment,” says Kashif Shaikh, Pillars Fund Co-founder and President. “We are proud to invest in storytellers that are telling joyful, honest stories about our communities.”

“The 2022-23 Pillars Artist Fellowship was an exciting achievement: Our fellows joined prestigious writers’ rooms, sold their work to major companies, and won awards at competitive festivals.” says Arij Mikati, Pillars Fund Managing Director of Culture Change. “We hope to build on this experience to support even more Muslim talent.”

To qualify for the fellowship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must be directors or screenwriters who identify as Muslim.

• Applicants must live in the U.S. or U.K. Citizenship is not required.

• Applicants must be adults 18 years old or older.

• Applicants must be emerging artists. The Pillars Artist Fellowship defines an emerging artist as a storyteller with some experience who meets one to three of the following criteria:

  • Has an agent or manager

  • Has directed a short or feature in the past five years

  • Has won a screenwriting award in the past five years

  • Has participated in another lab/fellowship in the past five years

  • Is a member of a professional guild or organization (for example, DGA, WGA, Directors UK)

  • Has staffed on a television show or received a writing credit on a film

  • Has worked as an assistant in the entertainment industry for two or more years

  • Has worked in another field in the entertainment industry for two or more years

Applications are due October 31, 2023, at 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time / 11 p.m. British Summer Time.

More details about the fellowship can be found on the Pillars website.