Funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, the fellowship provides its selected filmmakers with an unrestricted artist grant, yearlong mentorship, professional development opportunities, and access to Sundance Institute programmes and resources.
By Joseph Jonathan
Nigerian-American filmmaker Aiman Mimiko and Egyptian-Filipina filmmaker Mariam Dwedar have been selected for the fourth cohort of the Sundance Institute and Islamic Scholarship Fund’s Building Bridges Fellowship, which supports emerging filmmakers telling stories centred on the U.S. Muslim experience.
Funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, the fellowship provides its selected filmmakers with an unrestricted artist grant, yearlong mentorship, professional development opportunities, and access to Sundance Institute programmes and resources.
Mimiko, a writer-director whose work explores faith, power, and belonging across Muslim and African worlds, joins the fellowship with Native Authority. He is a Princess Grace Award winner, BAFTA Connect talent, and Pillars Artist Fellow, and holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University.
Dwedar, an Emmy Award-winning Egyptian-Filipina filmmaker from Brooklyn, joins the cohort with The Farewell Kiss. Her work spans documentaries, television series, and news programmes, with credits earning IDA, Peabody, and Webby honours. She has also been recognised by DOC NYC as one of its “40 Under 40” rising stars in documentary.
The other filmmakers selected for the 2026 cohort are Mohammed Ali Naqvi (A Life on Terror), Mustafa Rony Zeno (Please Take Off Your Shoes), Nimco Sheikhaden (The Angriest Black Man in America), and Ward Kamel (If I Die in America).
The six fellows will convene this October at Duke Farms in New Jersey for an artist retreat, where they will participate in creative sessions and receive mentorship from industry advisors including historian Zaheer Ali, filmmaker Dawn Porter, and director and producer Oualid Mouaness.
Now in its fourth year, the Building Bridges Fellowship is part of Sundance Institute’s Artist Accelerator programme and is designed to provide sustained financial, creative, and professional support for filmmakers working to bring U.S. Muslim stories to wider audiences.