Riz Ahmed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2018. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, cropped (CC BY-SA)
Riz Ahmed is backing the next wave of filmmakers. Pillars Fund and Ahmed’s Left Handed Films have named 10 rising directors and screenwriters to the 2026–27 Pillars Frames Fellowship, according to an announcement on Netflix’s newsroom. Netflix and Amazon MGM Studios have supported the program since its first cohort in 2022.
Key Takeaways
- Each fellow gets a $40,000 unrestricted grant, one-on-one mentorship and workshops led by industry experts over 10 months.
- Fellows meet at three in-person retreats in New York City, London and Los Angeles.
- The fellowship, formerly the Pillars Artist Fellowship, backs directors and screenwriters who work alongside Muslim communities.
- This year’s fellows are based in the U.S. and U.K. and have won or been nominated for BAFTA, Venice, Cannes and Emmy awards.
The Full Story
The new fellows are Yasmin Afifi, Sindha Agha, Fyzal Boulifa, Amar Chebib, Laith Elzubaidi, Duran Jones, Morgan Mathews, Imran Perretta, Huda Razzak and Said Zagha. Their work ranges from Afifi’s BAFTA-winning short Jellyfish and Lobster to Perretta’s debut feature Ish, which won the Audience Award at the 2025 Venice Critics’ Week. Zagha directed the first two episodes of Netflix’s Arabic-language series Crashing Eid.
“This singular cohort makes us laugh, cry, and inspires hope with their unflinching points of view on cinema,” said Arij Mikati, Pillars’ vice president of programs. “Too often, what is missing is access and investment. That’s where Frames steps in.”
Allie Moore, senior vice president at Left Handed Films, said each filmmaker “brings a fearless vision, a singular voice, and a rigorous craft.” The fellows also get access to an advisory committee that includes Ahmed, Mahershala Ali, Ramy Youssef, Hasan Minhaj, Mo Amer and Nida Manzoor.
The Social Conversation
Pillars and Ahmed launched the fellowship in 2021. Alumni work has premiered at Sundance and SXSW and earned BAFTA and Emmy recognition, including Myriam Raja’s BAFTA for Top Boy. Ahmed’s Left Handed Films is also behind the Oscar-winning short The Long Goodbye and his recent Hamlet.
