Pillars Artist Fellowship

Fateme Ahmadi

Director

Fateme Ahmadi is an Iranian writer-director based in London. She is an alumna of the London Film School, Berlinale Talents and Edinburgh Talent Lab. Her shorts received recognition at festivals worldwide, including BIFA-nominated “Bitter Sea” and “Leila’s Blues,” which was made through Tunisia Factory and screened in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Fateme is a Film London Lodestar and a John Brabourne Award recipient. She is mentored by Marjane Satrapi (BAFTA-nominated writer-director, “Persepolis,” “Radioactive”). In addition to her narrative work, Fateme also worked as the associate producer of the BIFA-nominated feature documentary “Coup 53,” produced by Taghi Amirani and Paul Zaentz and co-produced by Amir Amirani and Ahmad Kiarostami. Fateme’s first feature, “Daughter of Eden,” is currently in development with the BFI Film Fund.

Zeshawn Ali

Director

Zeshawn Ali is a writer and director originally from Ohio and currently based in New York. His feature documentary film,“Two Gods,” was supported by ITVS, Ford Foundation and Sundance Institute and was selected in festivals across North America. It was released in theaters nationwide as well as on broadcast as a part of “Independent Lens” on PBS. The film was named a New York Times Critics Pick and nominated for a Cinema Eye Spotlight Award. He was recently selected as a fellow for the Gotham/HBO Documentary Development Initiative and is currently in development on a new feature documentary as well as a narrative adaptation of “Two Gods.”

Aqsa Altaf

Director

Aqsa Altaf is a Los Angeles-based writer and director. She was raised in Kuwait by Muslim, Pakistani and Sri Lankan parents who were migrant workers, and immigrated to the U.S. in 2013. Aqsa wrote and directed “American Eid” for the NAACP Image Awards-nominated series Disney Launchpad, now streaming on Disney+. Her proof-of-concept short film “Heat” was developed at Amazon Studios as a series. Her short films have premiered at festivals like SXSW and Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. She was also nominated for the Young Director Award at Cannes and selected as a Directing Mentorship Fellow for Ryan Murphy’s HALF Initiative. In addition to her narrative work, Aqsa also directs commercials and branded films.

Nausheen Dadabhoy

Director

Nausheen Dadabhoy is a director and cinematographer whose work spans fiction and documentary. She has lensed an Oscar-nominated short film and an Emmy-winning documentary. Her films have been shown at Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and SXSW, and hosted on Netflix, Amazon, HBO and Hulu. Her directorial debut, “The Ground Beneath Their Feet,” premiered at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in the first appearance competition. Her second feature documentary, “An Act of Worship,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and had a national broadcast on PBS’s POV. The film received support from the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Tribeca Film Institute, International Documentary Association and Sundance Institute. Nausheen received her MFA in Cinematography from the American Film Institute.

Imran J. Khan

Director

Imran J. Khan has written and directed a number of award-winning short films including “Timmy II,” “The Drone and the Kid” and “Prom.” His short films have screened at major film festivals, broadcasted nationally on PBS’s Film School Shorts, and been awarded Vimeo Staff Pick. Imran is a former assistant editor at Walt Disney Animation Studios and has previously assistant edited a number of films including “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.” He is a graduate of NYU’s MFA Film production program and a San Francisco Bay Area native. His semi-autobiographical coming-of-age debut feature, “Mustache,” will premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival.

Karim Khan

Writer

Karim Khan is a playwright and screenwriter from Oxford. His award-winning play “Brown Boys Swim” completed a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, before transferring to Soho Theatre. The play ignited a bidding war, and he’s now adapting it for television with a major international studio and network. Karim’s first TV credit was on Channel 5/PBS show “All Creatures Great and Small.” He’s currently staffed on several writers’ rooms and is writing episodes on two new shows for the BBC. He has a number of original TV projects in development. Karim graduated from the NFTS Screenwriting program in 2019 and is an alumnus of both the Soho Writers’ Lab and Royal Court Writers’ Group.

Myriam Raja

Director

Myriam Raja graduated from the National Film & Television School (NFTS) in 2018 with her graduation short “Azaar,” which was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Short Film. After graduating from NFTS, Myriam directed an episode of the Netflix series “Top Boy.” The show was a great success, and Myriam was brought back to direct four episodes in the final season. Myriam is currently finishing postproduction on “Top Boy” while also developing her debut feature with Film4 and a second feature project with BBC and David Yates’ production company, Wychwood Films.

Nadra Widatalla

Writer

Nadra Widatalla is a Sudanese-American storyteller and community-based organizer. As a Sudanese woman, her goal is to continue to bridge the gap between global revolutions and grassroots movements happening in the United States, whether it be through on-the-ground organizing or sharing her voice in the Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue and more. Most recently, Nadra was selected to participate in the Television Screenwriting Lab for Black Muslim Writers, held in partnership with the Muslim Public Affairs Council and The Blackhouse Foundation. Additionally, her pilot, “Naila,” was selected for The Black List’s inaugural Muslim List. Nadra was most recently a staff writer on the upcoming Peacock series “Mrs. Davis,” created by Damon Lindelof and Tara Hernandez. She is currently writing and developing projects for television.

Farida Zahran

Director

Farida Zahran is an Egyptian writer-director based in Brooklyn, working across film and television. Most recently, she wrote on the acclaimed series “Ramy” (A24 and Hulu). Her short film, “Youth,” premiered at SXSW in 2019, received an Oscar-qualifying award at Palm Springs International ShortFest, and is a Vimeo Staff Pick. She has been supported by programs such as the New York Film Festival Artist Academy, HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab, Cairo Film Connection and the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. She is a graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program. Farida is currently in development on her debut feature, “The Leftover Ladies,” as well as a half-hour series.

Ali Imran Zaidi

Writer

Ali Imran Zaidi is a Los Angeles-based television, feature and audio series writer of thrillers, sci-fi and crime. He’s currently writing an original narrative audio series alongside Hillman Grad Productions, with Hasan Minhaj and Janina Gavankar co-producing and starring. He’s also adapting a sci-fi property for Skybound Entertainment. Recently, he went through The Black List’s 2022 Feature Lab and was on The Black List’s 2022 Muslim List. A Florida escapee, he has lived on three continents and worked odd jobs, ranging from processing mountains of gulf shrimp at a fish house to building PCs and software in a hangar near Travolta’s secret lair. His stories are spiked with that diverse and often darkly comedic experience.

Riz Ahmed

Riz Ahmed is an Academy Award-nominated actor, writer, producer, and musician, as well as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People (listed in 2017). Themes of inclusion and representation run throughout Riz’s work as a creator and activist, from his roles in projects such as “Sound of Metal,” “The Night Of,” and “Mogul Mowgli,” to his essay in Nikesh Shukla’s “The Good Immigrant,” his 2017 address to Parliament on diversity in the creative industries, and his appointment to the Mayor of London’s 2021 Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm. Whether he’s using his power as a producer to bring refugee narratives to our screens via his production company Left Handed Films, writing about the inequalities of the COVID pandemic as contributing editor of British Vogue, or exploring Britishness through his critically acclaimed music release “The Long Goodbye,” the Gold List A100 honoree is driven by a mission to stretch culture, reimagine our narratives and landscapes of belonging, and include rather than divide.

Bisha K. Ali

Bisha K. Ali is a screenwriter, director, and producer who splits her time between London and Los Angeles. In 2019, Bisha was announced as the head writer of Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” series for Disney+, starring the MCU’s first Muslim superhero, Kamala Khan. Bisha’s previous work includes consulting on HBO and Sky’s upcoming series “The Baby” and writing on Marvel Studios’ “Loki” for Disney+, Hulu’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” and Netflix’s “Sex Education.” Recently, Bisha partnered with Netflix and Sky Studios to develop The Screenwriters’ Fellowship for underrepresented U.K. writers that will provide them with financial aid, a support network, and placement in a writers’ room.

Mahershala Ali

Mahershala Ali is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor for his roles in “Moonlight” and “Green Book.” He will next star in “Swan Song,” written and directed by Academy Award winner Benjamin Cleary for Apple TV+, and as “Blade” in the anticipated upcoming Marvel film. Last year, Mahershala was also nominated for an Emmy for his supporting role in Hulu’s award-winning series “Ramy.” In 2019, Mahershala produced the HBO documentary “We Are the Dream,” which recently won the Emmy in the category of Outstanding Children’s Program. Also that year, he was nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award for his role in HBO’s “True Detective.”

Sana Amanat

Sana Amanat is currently a creative executive at Marvel Studios. Over her 12 years at Marvel, Sana has worked as an editor, content creator, and producer. She’s worked on story and character development for much of her career beginning with comic books then moving to animation, games, and live action. Sana is most known for co-creating a Muslim American female superhero named Kamala Khan—a new Ms. Marvel—which gained worldwide media attention and sparked excitement and dialogue about identity and the Muslim American narrative. She has championed representation in storytelling, striving to cultivate new voices within the entertainment industry by creating platforms like the Women of Marvel. Sana has been featured in Vogue, Marie Claire, and Time Magazine. She has also had the distinct honor of introducing President Barack Obama at the White House, who called her a “real life superhero.”

Karim Amer

Karim Amer

is an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, whose verité-style filmmaking brings intimacy and empathy to whatever topic he pursues. Karim’s work is social and political, tackling large issues through the individuals experiencing them. His film “The Square” (2013) provided a ground-level view of the Egyptian Revolution and garnered an Oscar nomination, three Emmy wins, and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. His directorial debut, “The Great Hack” (2019), an exploration of the Cambridge Analytica hack, was hailed by The Guardian as “the most important doc [of the] year” and made the Academy Award and Grierson shortlists, received Emmy and BAFTA nominations, and won a Cinema Eye Award. As a producer, Karim co-produced “The Breadwinner” (2017) with Angelina Jolie and the Peabody Award-winning television series “Ramy” (2019). He is currently directing and producing the second season of acclaimed HBO series “The Vow.”

Karim is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and co-founder of THE OTHRS, a Brooklyn-based, full-service production company, with award-winning producer-director Jehane Noujaim.

Mo Amer

Mohammed “Mo” Amer is a Palestinian-American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer from Houston, Texas. He can currently be seen on the award winning comedy Mo streaming on Netflix. The show won a 2023 Peabody Award, a TV Academy Honor and a Gotham Award for “Breakthrough Series “and was named one of AFI ‘s (American Film Institute) top 10 shows of the year. Mo was also nominated for “Best Actor” at the Independent Spirit Award for the series that has rare 100% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. He can also be seen opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in DC’s Black Adam and in the Golden Globe winning show Ramy. In 2022 he was named GQ ‘Man of the Year’ in the UAE. His two stand -up specials Mo Amer: The Vangabond and Mo Amer; Mohmand in Texas can also be seen on Netflix. Mo has performed in over 27 countries across 5 continents.

Rosa Attab

Rosa Attab, French of Algerian descent and a graduate of Cornell University and ESCP Europe, began her career at Wild Bunch as head of acquisitions. She switched to film production to handle development and run writing rooms on local comedies at Serenity Films, where she developed “Les Tuche,” the highest-grossing French franchise of the last 10 years, 

In 2010, she joined the multi-award-winning Paris-based outfit Why Not Productions, where she produced international and French projects with established and emerging directors such as Jacques Audiard, Cristian Mungiu, Arnaud Desplechin, Lynne Ramsay, Yann Demange, and Ken Loach.

Rosa is a BAFTA and Independent Spirit Awards nominee and was featured in Variety as one of 10 Producers to Watch in 2017. She is a producer on Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here” (best screenplay and best actor at Cannes Film Festival 2017), and a writer-producer on Samir Guesmi’s “Ibrahim” (Cannes FF 2020) and Yassine Qunia’s “A Brighter Tomorrow” (Director’s Fortnight 2021). Rosa is currently an independent writer-producer working between Paris and London.

May Calamawy

Born and raised in Bahrain, Palestinian- Egyptian actress, May Calamawy, started her acting career in Dubai then started working in TV in the USA after studying at the William Esper Studio in NYC. She can be seen in the TV shows Ramy, as Dena Hassan, and Moonknight, as Layla El Faouly/ Scarlet Scarab. Her upcoming projects include The Actor, Duke Johnson and Gladiator 2, Ridley Scott.

Yann Demange

Yann Demange has always been passionate about telling unexpected, distinctive stories. Growing up in London as a man of Algerian and French heritage, Yann made a name for himself as a filmmaker in the U.K. on productions like “Top Boy” and “‘71,” for which he received the British Independent Film Award for Best Director. Transitioning to working in the U.S., Yann directed the feature film “White Boy Rick” (Sony) and the pilot of BAFTA-, Golden Globe-, and multi-Emmy-nominated television drama “Lovecraft Country” (HBO). Yann also recently launched a production company, Wayward Films, to develop film and television projects for a global audience, believing deeply in the commerciality of diverse and bold storytelling.

Mohamed Diab

Mohamed Diab is a prominent Egyptian filmmaker who began his career as a screenwriter. His work has achieved commercial success in the Middle East as well as international acclaim. In 2010, he made his directorial debut, “Cairo 678,” about a trio of female vigilantes who fight sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo. Paulo Coelho tweeted that the film “should be mandatory for all men to watch.” In 2016, he followed up with the Cannes Un Certain Regarde opener “Clash” (2016), an action-packed political thriller shot entirely from within the confines of a police truck, praised by Tom Hanks who urged people to see it, for “it will break your heart, but enlighten all.” His latest film, “Amira” (2021), centers around the phenomenon of Palestinian prisoners conceiving children through smuggled sperm. The Disney+ and Marvel Studios series “Moon Knight” marks his U.S. directorial debut.

Sarah Goher

Sarah Goher is an Egyptian American writer and producer, born and bred in the South Bronx. She attended the prestigious Nightingale Bamford school that inspired the series “Gossip Girl” before double majoring at NYU in film and economics. After graduating, she moved to Cairo and met her creative partner and husband, filmmaker Mohamed Diab. She produced his first film, “Cairo 678” (2010), about a trio of female vigilantes who fight sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo. Paulo Coelho tweeted that the film “should be mandatory for all men to watch.”

Her sophomore film was the Cannes Un Certain Regarde opener “Clash” (2016), an action-packed political thriller shot entirely from within the confines of a police truck, praised by Tom Hanks who urged people to see it, for “it will break your heart, but enlighten all.” Their latest film, “Amira” (2021), centers around the phenomenon of Palestinian prisoners conceiving children through smuggled sperm.

Sarah has co-written two scripts with Mohamed: “Yara,” a refugee superhero film housed at Blumhouse Productions, and “Quota,” a sci-fi thriller set at Thunder Road Films. In 2020, Sarah and Mohamed began working on the Marvel series “Moon Knight,” starring Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, and May Calamawy and airing on Disney+.

Sarah is currently preparing to direct her first feature.

Zainab Johnson

Zainab Johnson is a stand-up comedian, actress, and writer quickly being propelled as one of the most unique and engaging performers on stage and screen. Zainab’s comedy is based on her unique point-of-view, which was shaped growing up in Harlem as one of thirteen siblings in a black Muslim family. Zainab was named one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics To Watch, she is one of the host for Netflix’s show “100 Humans”, she’s currently a series regular on the Amazon Original hit series titled “Upload” from Greg Daniels, and stars in her very first One Hour Comedy Special “Hijabs Off” which premiered worldwide October 24th on Prime Video.

Lena Khan

Lena Khan is a writer and director. Her first feature film, “The Tiger Hunter,” released in over 70 cities nationwide and garnered effusively positive reviews from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and more. Fresh off of her first film, Disney tapped Lena to direct “Flora & Ulysses” (2021), a live-action family comedy that was among the top streamed movies in the world for multiple weeks. She filmed several episodes of Mindy Kaling’s Netflix series “Never Have I Ever” and is working on several feature and television projects, including a show she recently sold, a half-hour dramedy she is executive producing, and a feature passion project she is incredibly excited about but isn’t allowed to talk about.

Nida Manzoor

Nida Manzoor is a prolific and award-winning genre-comedy writer and director. Her work has been commissioned by U.K. broadcasters, including the BBC, Sky, and Channel 4. With a background in short film, in 2018 Nida directed the first series of hit BBC comedy series “Enterprice,” written by and starring Kayode Ewumi. In 2019, she directed two critically acclaimed episodes of the cult BBC sci-fi show “Doctor Who,” starring Jodie Whittaker.

Most recently, Nida wrote, created, and directed the acclaimed television series “We Are Lady Parts,” a music comedy for Channel 4 and Peacock

Hasan Minhaj

Hasan Minhaj was the host and creator of the weekly comedy show “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” that premiered on Netflix in October 2018. The series explored the modern cultural and political landscape with depth and sincerity through his unique comedic voice. The show received a 2019 Peabody Award, a 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Motion Design, and was recognized for a 2020 Television Academy Honor.

In 2017, Hasan earned rave reviews for his performance hosting the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and for his one-hour Netflix comedy special “Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King,” which earned him a 2018 Peabody Award. A first-generation American, Hasan joined “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” as a correspondent in November 2014, where he was Jon’s last hire. He continued on in that role after Trevor Noah took over as host the following year and remained on the show through August 2018.

Nijla Mu’min

Nijla Mu’min is a writer and filmmaker from the East Bay Area. Her work is informed by poetry, photography, music, fiction, and dance. In 2014, she was selected for the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive, and she was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay at the 2014 Urbanworld Film Festival, for her script Noor, which has continued to garner recognition from The Black List Muslim List, The Islamic Scholarship Fund, and the Sundance Institute.

Her debut feature film, Jinn, premiered at the 2018 South By Southwest Film Festival, where she won the Special Jury Recognition Award for Screenwriting. Jinn, a New York Times Critic’s pick, was released in November 2018 by Orion Classics, and is currently streaming on Amazon. She also directed an episode of “Queen Sugar” in 2018. In 2019, she received the Shadow & Act Rising Award, the MPAC Media Award for Courage and Conscience, and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. That same year, she directed an episode of HBO’s “Insecure” season four, and she wrote for the Starz show “Blindspotting.” In 2020, she wrote and directed an episode of the Apple series, “Swagger.”She also wrote and directed a short film for Netflix, entitled Black Prom. In 2021, she directed an episode of “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” for Hulu. In 2022, she directed episodes of All Rise for OWN, Swagger season 2 for Apple, and East New York for CBS. She is currently developing her second feature film, Mosswood Park. She is a dual-degree graduate of CalArts MFA Film Directing and Creative Writing Programs, and a graduate of UC Berkeley, where studied in June Jordan’s Poetry for the People Program.

Amina Munir

Amina Munir is a writer and producer from New Jersey. She most recently inked an overall deal with Universal Television to develop and produce projects for a variety of platforms. She has worked alongside comedy legends, including Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, and Ted Danson, and currently serves as a supervising producer on season 4 of “Never Have I Ever” (Netflix). Her experience in television ranges over nine seasons, including single camera, multi-camera, network, and cable.

Jehane Noujaim

Jehane Noujaim

is an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated Egyptian American filmmaker, whose verité-style filmmaking brings intimacy and empathy to whatever topic she pursues. Beginning with her early films “Rafea: Solar Mama” (2013), “Control Room” (2004), and “Startup.com” (2001), Jehane’s work is social and political, tackling large issues through the individuals experiencing them. Her film “The Square” (2013) provided a ground-level view of the Egyptian Revolution and garnered an Oscar nomination, three Emmy wins, and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Her exploration of the Cambridge Analytica hack, “The Great Hack” (2019), was hailed by The Guardian as “the most important doc [of the] year” and made the Academy Award and Grierson shortlists, received Emmy and BAFTA nominations, and won a Cinema Eye Award. 

As a producer, Jehane co-produced “The Breadwinner” with Angelina Jolie and the Peabody Award-winning television series “Ramy,” for which she directed the first season finale. She has been nominated three times for the Directors Guild of America Award. In 2006, she was awarded the TED Prize with which she created Pangea Day, a global film festival in 1800 locations across 100 countries aimed at creating a global campfire for filmmakers and using the power of film to create a better understanding of one another.

 Jehane is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and co-founder of THE OTHRS, a Brooklyn-based, full-service production company, with award-winning producer-director Karim Amer. She is currently directing and producing part 2 of acclaimed HBO series “The Vow.”

Saagar Shaikh

Saagar Shaikh is a Pakistani American actor and producer. Born and raised in Texas to immigrant parents, he didn’t have much exposure outside of the world of convenience stores. He graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a BA in Business Management before exploring a world of storytelling and improvising and grew a passion for positive Muslim representation.

In 2019, Saagar was selected in the Disney Television Discovers Talent Showcase which set the stage for his breakout role in the critically acclaimed Marvel Studios series on Disney+, “Ms. Marvel.” He reprised his role in the film “The Marvels” alongside Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson. Saagar will next star as a lead in the upcoming series for Hulu, “Deli Boys.”

Bassam Tariq

Bassam Tariq

is a writer and director working in both fiction and nonfiction. His BAFTA-nominated debut fiction film, “Mogul Mowgli,” starring Riz Ahmed, premiered at Berlinale 2020 and won the International Critics Prize. The film recently won the Best Debut Screenwriter and Best Music award at the British Independent Film Awards. He is a TED Fellow and was named in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His previous film, “Ghost of Sugarland” (2019), won the Short Film Jury Prize at Sundance and was released as a Netflix Original. His first feature documentary, “These Birds Walk,” premiered at SXSW and is distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories. It was also named one of the 50 best foreign films of the 21st century by the New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his family.

Ramy Youssef

Ramy Youssef is a Golden Globe-winning Egyptian American creator, actor, producer, director, and comedian who brings his unique voice and perspective to his storytelling. He won the 2020 Golden Globe Award® on behalf of “Ramy” in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Youssef created, produced, and stars in the hit show, which is inspired by his own experiences centering around a first-generation Egyptian American Muslim on a spiritual journey in his politically divided New Jersey neighborhood. Most recently, the Television Academy nominated Youssef for two 2020 Emmy Awards® in the categories of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series on behalf of the second season of “Ramy.” Youssef was also nominated for a Critics Choice Award and a Writers Guild Award for his one-hour HBO comedy special “Ramy Youssef: Feelings,” produced by A24. Youssef, through his partnership with A24, is working on creating and developing subsequent projects. The first show will star “Ramy” series regular Stephen Way in a story illustrating the perspective and experience of a disabled person and their family in a real way. Youssef will executive produce both this series and an untitled show currently in production with Netflix.